Associate Professor of Nutrition, Sheila Isanaka, is conducting a randomized clinical trial in Niger evaluating a novel microbiome-directed food for treating acute malnutrition in children. Utilizing advanced data science techniques, the study analyzes the gut microbiome’s impact using DNA sequencing, metagenomic and metabolomic analyses, as well as machine learning. The study integrates multiomic datasets to identify important microbial species and pathways for healthy growth, aiming to develop microbiome-directed therapeutic foods. To enhance knowledge sharing, the researchers have been awarded HDSI funding to produce a video that communicates their methods and findings, bridging the gap between technical research and public engagement, as traditional funds do not cover such communication tools.
This funding was made possible by the HDSI’s Faculty Special Projects Fund