Brianna Duncan-Lowey, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Yale University

One of the key risk factors for colorectal cancer is inflammatory bowel disease, like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. These diseases are driven by chronic inflammatory responses to the gut microbiome and are associated with dysbiotic changes in the microbiome composition. Dr. Duncan-Lowey’s study will focus on understanding the molecular interactions between gut microbes and human hosts and defining how these interactions are different between healthy people and patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Understanding these differences can help define what changes in the microbiome may cause inflammation, and how changes in the intestinal layers may change which microbes are able to reside in the gut. These insights can lead to a new understanding of to how to treat inflammatory bowel disease and mitigate inflammation to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer.

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