Suchitra Hourigan, M.D.

The Clinical Microbiome Unit focuses on microbiome interventions to mitigate chronic inflammatory diseases. 

The immune system and inflammatory processes are involved in a wide variety of diseases that dominate worldwide morbidity and mortality. It is well documented in animal models and observational studies that dysbiosis or imbalance of the gut microbiome is associated with many chronic diseases with an inflammatory or immune mediated etiology. The Clinical Microbiome Unit aims to translate this science in humans beyond descriptive and associative studies to clinical microbiome interventions to improve health and change the trajectory of these diseases. Our novel integrative approach allows for advanced exploration of microbiome and host physiology interactions in humans anchored by objective assessments of health consequences of clinical microbiome interventions.

Early life represents a critical window for dynamic gut microbiome development and subsequent immune and inflammatory regulation. As such, our unit particularly focuses on early life microbiome interventions with the hypothesis that such timing is most likely to protect against subsequent inflammatory diseases. Therefore, a major aim is our randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of the microbiome intervention, “vaginal seeding,” in babies born by Cesarean Section, who are at increased risk of inflammatory diseases including obesity and atopy. We also lead studies investigating other microbiome interventions including fecal transplant and early life antibiotics.

Together, these efforts not only investigate microbiome interventions to improve health in humans, but also support translational research, including human intestinal organoid models, to help understand mechanisms of changes in microbiota composition and function, and host-microbiota immune and inflammatory interactions resulting from these novel clinical interventions.