The TransUniversity Microbiome Initiative aims to create a central hub for cutting-edge microbiome research at the University of Virginia.
Human symbiosis with the diverse communities of bacteria and other indigenous microbes that compose our microbiome is an essential component of health and a key determinant of interindividual variability in response to therapeutic interventions. Dysbiosis, i.e., imbalance in the composition and function of the microbiome, has been implicated in rising rates of Clostridium difficile infection, metabolic syndrome and obesity, cancer, psychological depression, food allergies, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and autism. In low- and middle-income countries, dysbiosis is further linked to high rates of diarrheal diseases, undernutrition, and impaired immune responses to oral immunizations against polio and rotavirus - diseases impeding progress towards the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
