Nicholas Burton, Ph.D.

Research

My lab will explore the molecular mechanisms that allow bacteria in the microbiome to cure metabolic diseases. Microbes that reside in the gut can boost our metabolism and immunity, promoting health and even alleviating symptoms of disease. But developing microbiome-based treatments requires understanding which bacteria are therapeutic and the molecular mechanisms through which they exert their beneficial effects. To simplify the search for these natural health-promoting products, we turned to C. elegans—animals that consume bacteria as part of their normal diet. Working with strains of C. elegans that harbor mutations analogous to those that cause human metabolic disorders, my group isolated bacteria that suppress the mutant genes’ harmful effects. Now, using an array of techniques in cell and molecular genetics, microbiology, and gene editing, we will isolate and characterize the molecular “suppressors” that allow the microbes to promote survival in these worm strains and in six additional C. elegans models of what are known as inborn errors of metabolism. My lab will then aim to transfer these curative mechanisms to strains of E. coli that are naturally found in the human gut—work that could lead to novel, microbial therapeutics for treating human metabolic diseases.