The first years of life are a crucial period for the development of the human gut microbiome.
The perturbations that occur during early life may have long-lasting consequences for human health throughout the lifespan. Environmental exposures may substantially affect this process.
In this project, we aim to systematically explore the effects of the environment on the development of the gut microbiome during the first year of infant life by combining exposome data obtained through questionnaires and geospatial imputation with longitudinal gut microbiome data. To uncover the underlying molecular pathways driving these relationships, we are conducting metabolomics analyses on infant stool and blood samples.
The environment we live in has a dominant impact on our health. It explains an estimated seventy percent of the chronic disease burden. Where we live, what we eat, how much we exercise, the air we breathe and whom we associate with; all of these environmental factors play a role. The combination of these factors over the life course is called the exposome. There is general (scientific) consensus that understanding more about the exposome will help explain the current burden of disease and that it provides entry points for prevention and ...
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