RUMP Work in Progress

RUMP Work in Progress Presents:

Garam Choi, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Associate

Dr. Nick Bessman laboratory

Center for Immunity and Inflammation, NJMS

Topic: Exploring the effect of diet on intestinal colonization of Bifidobacterium using a gnotobiotic mouse model

Summary: Bifidobacterium spp., known for their various health-promoting effects, dominate the infant gut microbiota but are replaced by a more complex microbiota after weaning. Using a gnotobiotic mouse model, we identified diet switch as a potential driver for the decrease of intestinal Bifidobacterium. Our project aims to uncover how diet switch regulates the persistence of Bifidobacterium in the gut and, consequently, its probiotic functions.

Sara Di Rienzi, PhD

Assistant Professor

Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology

RBHS, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Topic: “Introducing oxytocin as a gut hormone.”

Sara Di Rienzi asks the broad question of how the ecosystem of the gut results in effects across the entire body. She specifically focuses on how hormones in the gut are modulated by gut microbes and diet and the role of gut hormones in host physiology. Her current work is addressing the functions of intestinal produced oxytocin.