Helen Vuong, Ph.D.

Research

The Vuong lab will explore how perturbation during pregnancy alters maternal gut bacteria and regulates neural development and behavior in the offspring. Diet, stress, and infection shape the composition of intestinal microbes that promote maternal health and are critical for proper fetal growth and development, particularly that of the brain. As a postdoctoral fellow, I discovered that maternal microbes in pregnant mice can regulate the expression of genes in the fetal brain, promote brain connectivity and establish the adult offsprings’ tactile sensitivity. Further, I found that supplementing pregnant mice with microbial metabolites can prevent axon loss and reduced tactile sensory behavior. Now, using the latest methods in biochemistry, pharmacology, genetics, and neurophysiology, my lab will catalog the microbial metabolites produced during pregnancy, identify the host receptor proteins that interact with metabolites, and assess how these interactions influence maternal health, fetal growth, and neurodevelopment. We will then evaluate how challenges to the maternal environment can alter the microbial metabolite landscape and assess how metabolite-based interventions will protect offspring from lasting alterations to their brain and behaviors. This work will broaden our understanding of maternal health and its importance in fetal development, and could lead to public health strategies for preventing neurological disorders associated with poor maternal health.