Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center
Unraveling the Microbiome. Advancing Discovery. Transforming Health.
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Core Services
Microbiome seminar series
Join our seminar series featuring guest speakers, Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center faculty, and UCLA trainees sharing the latest research and insights on the microbiome's role in human health.
Accepting applications for the Pilot and Feasxibility Core Voucher Program
Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center early career investigators with any microbiome-related proposal or established (GLMC) investigators who want to pursue a new research direction ivolving the microbiome and services from a GLMC core facility are invited to apply. The deadline for application is Monday, November 9.
New Microbiome Vaccine Program (MVP) aims to harness gut microbes and immune system against cancer-promoting bacteria
Latest news
$4M NIH grant to study probiotic treatment for obesity
Dr. Arpana Church has received a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate whether a specific probiotic blend can influence the communication between the gut, the microbiome, and the brain in adults with obesity. The five-year project, Probiotic Regulation of Gut-Microbiome–Brain Interactions in Obesity and Eating Behaviors (PROBE), is funded by the NIH’s National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health.
Brain aging may be detected decades before symptoms appear, with links to gut health
A new UCLA study, led by Dr. Arpana Church, has found a connection between how quickly the brain ages and the bacteria and chemical byproducts found in the gut, offering a fresh clue into what drives brain aging long before symptoms appear.
$5.4M award for research on a vaccine against the bacterium Helicobacter pylori
Jonathan D. Herman, MD, PhD, received a $5.4 million, four-year award from the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center at UCLA for research on a vaccine against the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. The award is part of a larger gift from Dr. Gary K. Michelson to the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy (CIII) to establish the Microbiome Vaccine Program (MVP).
New postdoctoral fellow
We are pleased to welcome Vivian Yang, PhD, as a new microbiome postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Yang earned her doctorate in microbiology, immunology & molecular genetics from the UCLA College of Life Sciences and will conduct research on the mechanistic study of microfold cells as epithelial sensors of microbial dysbiosis and regulators of mucosal immune homeostasis. Working under the mentorship of Gregory P. Donaldson, PhD, Dr. Yang has been awarded $100,000 in fellowship funding for the period August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027.
Collaborative Research Seed Award
Drs. Irene Chen and Hung Ton-That have been awarded a 2026 Collaborative Research Seed Award to support their project, "Microbiome knockdown of Fusobacterium nucleatum by phage-based agents."
Inside the UCLA's Human Virome Characterization Center
Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila, principal investigator for the UCLA's Human Virome Characterization Center, discusses the team's research on oral-gut-brain axis microbiome, its role in oral health and disease, and how a deeper understanding of the human virome may reveal it's influence on this interconnected system.