Two Cornell researchers have been named CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars. Elizabeth Johnson, assistant professor of molecular nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, and Baobao Zhang, Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in government, are among 19 early-career scholars from eight countries to receive the grant for 2021-2023. CIFAR is a Canadian-based global research organization.
Based in Cornell’s Division of Nutritional Sciences, jointly administered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Ecology, Johnson studies how metabolite production by the gut microbiome influences human health.
Using high-throughput sequencing, mass spectrometry based lipidomics and general techniques in molecular biology, research in the Johnson lab seeks to understand lipid-dependent, host-microbe interactions and their effects on human health. This is done by careful analysis of the ever-changing contents of infant diapers, which contain a wealth of undeciphered information about infant well-being. A deeper understanding of disease-related changes in microbiome samples from infant diapers will provide non-invasive diagnostic information about infant health.
Last year, Johnson was senior author on a study published in the Journal of Lipid Research which explored why gut microbiomes of breastfed infants can differ greatly from those of formula-fed infants. The approaches developed in Johnson's research group could reveal how specific metabolites promote specific bacteria, allowing nutritionists to prescribe that patients eat foods containing specific metabolites to intentionally change the composition of their microbiomes.
Overall, the Johnson Lab aims to advance knowledge of how infant nutrition contributes to microbiome-dependent gastrointestinal health in order to support caregivers in their efforts to provide their babies with microbiome-conscious early-life nutrition.
