The Gibson lab’s goal is to treat disease-associated microbiomes using genetically engineered microbial medicines (GEMMs) that promote rebiosis in the gut. The Gibson lab has created platforms of live biotherapeutic products for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and other co-morbidities.
In addition to treating disease with beneficial bacteria, the lab also focuses on the prevention of disease by trying to understand how the human gut microbiome develops and its relationship to disease states. A running hypothesis is that environmental factors influence the composition and function of the intestinal microbiota which alters host immunity and metabolism. Some of the environmental effects we are currently investigating include diet, pesticide exposure, and immigration. The lab has done a lot of maternal and post-natal studies as well as generational studies using rodent models of various diseases stemming from the gut. Since the gut is a gateway to many normal physiological processes, we look at the gut-liver, gut-pancreas as well as the gut-brain axis.
Learn more about our current research here