I have had a long-standing interest in understanding how gut microbes are affected by (and affect) nervous and immune system activity. My early studies
demonstrated that exposure to psychosocial and physical stressors changes gut microbiome composition, with follow-up studies demonstrating that these
stressor-induced changes significantly affect immune system activity. One line of studies in the laboratory is focused on defining the physiological and cellular
pathways mediating these host-microbe interactions during stressful periods.

Our findings linking gut microbes to stress-induced immune dysregulation led us to test whether the microbiome could be targeted to alleviate immune
dysregulation. We found that the probiotic microbe Limosilactobacillus reuteri reduces stressor-induced immune dysregulation in the intestine and in the brain. In
follow-up studies, we developed a method of growing L. reuteri in a biofilm [designated L. reuteri (biofilm)] state to enhance its beneficial activities. We are now
studying the pathways by which this novel live bacterial therapeutic improves intestinal and neuroinflammation in animal models of necrotizing enterocolitis and
autism spectrum disorder.