Trust Your Gut: Dr. Lawrence David’s Faculty Talk!

During this summer in the BSURF program, there were many faculty speakers who visited us to discuss their research and the paths they took to get where they are. One of these presenters was Lawrence David, who specializes in studying the genetics of the microbiome. One particular thing I find interesting is that Dr. David mentioned that diet impacts the microbe populations in one’s gut. This is because the different components of different foods provide better growing conditions for certain microbes. For example, meat’s large quantities of fat and its lack of fiber would result in different populations if consumed than if only plants were consumed. While I have heard of probiotic yogurt that advertises itself as being good for a person’s microbiome, Dr. David pointed out that it has little effect. This stuck out to me because diet is a very overlooked factor in health, and even when diet is mentioned it is often in the context of another focus. Dr. David focused on his work sequencing commonly consumed foods in order to be able to properly analyze someone’s diet based on a stool sample. This was fascinating because it was a great application for research that has the potential to make many immediate impacts in healthcare and research.