Host-Microbiome Interactions in Health and Disease

Our lab studies how cells of the immune system in the gut interact with their environment - specifically the gut microbes (microbiota) and the enteric nervous system – and how these interactions control the balance between inflammation and tolerance, in health and disease. For this purpose, we combine microscopy, genomics, and molecular biology, with a unique gut organ culture system which we have recently developed. This system allows us to perform experiments which cannot be readily performed otherwise and has recently led us to discover that enteric neurons mediate microbiota-induced T-cells development in the gut. Dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying neuro-immune-microbiome cross-talks may lead to the development of microbiome- based, personalized therapy for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.