Gut microbiome

We've brought together a collaborative team of microbiologists, neuropathologists, nutrition scientists and behavioural psychologists to determine the nature and extent of the influence of gut microorganisms on the overall functioning of the human body.

We know our gut is home to an enormous population of microorganisms. The activity of these microorganisms modifies the chemical composition of the food we eat, influencing how our bodies use it to produce energy and fight disease. Despite their microscopic size, these tiny living things hold substantial sway over the body’s major regulatory control systems, including our metabolic, immune and nervous systems, and ultimately over our food choices and other behaviours.

Our multidisciplinary team is investigating how our gut microorganisms interact with the rest of our bodies.

We will correlate our findings to develop personalised lifestyle interventions that account for each individual’s gut microorganism profile, making successful weight management more achievable.

We envisage that this research will create a more personalised, nuanced understanding of the gut, and lead to specifically tailored plans for weight management.

Internal collaborators

• Dr Kim Bell-Anderson
• Professor Ian Caterson
• Professor Greg Cooney
• Dr Nick Fuller
• Associate Professor Anandwardhan Hardikar
• Dr Markus Hofer
• Associate Professor Andrew Holmes (Project Node Leader)
• Professor Jon Iredell
• Elissa Liew
• Associate Professor Sally Partridge
• Professor Peter Reeves
• Professor Stephen Simpson
• Professor Len Storlien
• Mia Zeric

External collaborators

• Julie Clarke
• Feyza Colakoglu, European Molecular Biology Laboratory
• Dr Liam Elbourne, Macquarie University
• Clarissa Asha Febinia, Eijkman Institute
• Chau Le
• Dr Trevor Lockett, CSIRO
• Sarafina Malik
• Professor Ian Paulsen, Macquarie University
• Fleur Ponton, Macquarie University
• Ketut Suastika
• Dr Herawati Sudoyo, Eijkman Institute
• Dr David Topping, CSIRO
• Ken Wilson
• Laura Woolfenden