Microbial profiles across the gastrointestinal tract, and associations with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (R-13393)

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract microbiome may be involved in the etiology of multiple cancers and other chronic diseases. Prior to understanding the role of GI microbial communities in diseases, it is critical to understand the differences in microbial profiles across subsites of the GI tract (oral cavity, stomach, and small and large intestines), which likely contain distinctive microbial characteristics and potentially unique contributions to disease risk. There is limited but growing evidence that microbial composition differs vastly along the GI tract and that each GI site's microbiome may have different and interrelated roles in the etiology of disease development. Accordingly, several studies have found that dysbiosis of the microbiome of the GI tract may be associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disease among adults and children worldwide. This study will characterize differences in microbial composition across the gastrointestinal tract. As 16S rRNA gene sequencing is a well-established method for comparing sample phylogeny and taxonomy from complex microbiomes, we will apply this method to characterize the microbial composition of oral, fecal, gastric juice/wash, and colonic tissue samples collected from study participants. The study will analyze the locationspecific microbiome profiles for associations with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and environmental exposures. This PhD project will focus on the statistical aspects of this complicated study.

Keywords:gastrointestinal tract

Disciplines:Microbiomes, Preventive medicine, Public health care not elsewhere classified, Biostatistics, Epidemiology