Congratulations to PhD student, Mehrbod Estaki!
Bod won the NSERC PhD award for his PGS-D NSERC application titled: “The role of physical activity in altering intestinal microbial ecology and its consequences on normal host functions”. The application was accepted for 24 months ($42,000) starting May of 2015.
The overall aim of this project is to 1) determine if physical activity affects the ecology of the intestinal microbiota and if such changes influence the adaptation response to exercise and 2) determine if physical activity-induced microbial changes can alter host physiological consequences in the intestine.
This project will expand our understanding of the microbiota-host nexus, improve standards in animal care, farming, and veterinary services by establishing ‘access to physical activity’ as a standard housing enrichment. Findings from this project will also be beneficial in the context of inflammatory bowel disease, in establishing whether physical activity can play a role in preventing disease onset or reduce symptom severity. Further, we aim to identify microbes to be potentially used as probiotics to enhance health and athletic performance.