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The Nutrition and Gut Microbiome Lab Contributing to research and academic progression in -omics

Devin’s Research Bio

Devin’s Research Bio

As part of the Soils to Society project I will be conducting research on Quinoa and how it affects the human gut microbiome.  The gut microbiome is the last step in food digestion and it is essential for blocking pathogens, metabolizing dietary elements, influencing gut-brain access and various other health related mechanisms.  The bacteria present in the gut is used as a biomarker to see how the body responds to different diets. Using an anaerobic chamber, different quinoa cultivars and human stool samples, I will be looking at the changes in bacterial makeup before and after quinoa exposure.  In addition, each cultivar will have a raw sample and a cooked sample to study how processing quinoa changes its effects on the gut microbiome.  I am looking to see how the bacterial changes reflect how exposure to different quinoa seeds can benefit the microbiome.  I will be looking for which quinoa cultivars and preparation methods yield the bacterial makeup closest to the ideal microbiome.