Everyone this summer is working on interesting and important research areas, however, the one that caught my attention the most is Piper’s research: the gut microbiome. Every day we all consume different types of foods from pizza to fruits to vegetables; each of these are composed of their respective macromolecules and nutrients. From proteins to sugars, our microbiomes are all made up of different bacteria that break down our consumption.
In Piper’s lab, research has already been done on how the gut microbiome changes when consuming food traditionally – through the mouth; however, she is doing research on how it changes when nutrients are delivered via the bloodstream, a procedure known as total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Her patients are hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients who have their cancer treated through bone marrow transplants, thus they receive their daily nutrients through tubes – possibly affecting their microbiome differently. Piper’s main focus is dietary fibers. When long chains of polysaccharides are digested, the bacteria in the microbiome produce enzymes to break them down resulting in short-chain fatty acids(SCFA) (very good for gut health). Thus, she is looking at the ability of these bacteria to break down these insoluble fibers and produce SCFA’s. Her hypothesis for her research is that TPN decreases fiber fermentation levels.
I found her research very interesting because nutrition is an area everyone should be familiar with as well as attentive to as different foods are introduced into our gut microbiomes. Additionally, I am working with stem cell differentiation and her research introduces questions on how the two can relate. Do certain ways of consuming foods affect the nutritional levels of different cells in the gut? If so, would regeneration of cells be important after a certain period? What is the relationship between the microbiome bacteria and nearby cells? Aside from my own research, it caught my attention because I am heavily interested in keeping my body healthy and consuming the correct nutrients for my gut, thus knowing how the bacteria break down my food allows me to understand which foods would keep me healthy. Also, this will aid doctors treating HSCT patients to focus on providing certain nutrients that may or may not be depleted when fed through TPN. Overall, this project is very cool Piper and I absolutely loved hearing your chalk talk!
