Understanding the contribution of the human microbiota to human health

Professor Gilbert, a carbohydrate biochemist based at Newcastle University, aims to gain a better understanding of the role the human intestinal microbiota - the community of microorganisms resident in our gut – plays in health and disease. Specifically, he will investigate how the uptake and breakdown of dietary glycans – complex carbohydrates such as pectins and starch - contribute to the survival of dominant members of the microbiota in the human large bowel and their ability to modulate our metabolism and our immune system.