Microbiome Science - Ruth E. Ley

The Department of Microbiome Science is broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of the human gut microbiota. We perform population-level research to probe links between human genotype and the gut microbiota, and we focus mechanistically on ways in which specific gut microbes have adapted to the human body.

In the Department of Microbiome Science, we ask fundamental questions about the evolutionary origins of the human gut microbiome and how it influences host physiology and evolution. We have the following main areas of research: (1) evolution of the human gut microbiome and interplay with host genetics, (2) lipids in host-microbiome symbiosis, (3) microbiota-innate immune interactions, (4) development of genetic systems for currently intractable microbes. Please see the representative papers from the lab in these areas below, and visit our Department’s website for more information LEY LAB.