Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center
Seed fellowship funding program
This program aims to support trainees of and encourage engagement with the center's core facilities. The funding opportunities provided by the center will help to jump-start ground-breaking microbiome research at UCLA by providing awards to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career faculty with Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center mentors.
Seminar series
Join us for this monthly seminar series where invited guest speakers, Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center faculty and UCLA trainees present their latest research findings and discuss evolving areas of interest in the many ways the microbiome interacts with human health.
Researchers shine at the 2nd Annual Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center Symposium
On April 24, the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center hosted it’s second annual symposium. In the rapidly developing field of microbiome and brain-gut microbiome research, it is critically important for clinicians and researchers to share information and build relationships in order to facilitate further advances. The success of this year’s symposium reflects its reach; 230 physicians, scientists, residents and fellows turned out for the event. The event featured seven researcher lectures and 31 poster presentations.
Latest news
How stress and social struggles fuel America’s obesity crisis
A new scientific review, led by Dr. Arpana Chuch, reveals how the brain-gut microbiome acts as a bridge between a person’s environmental influences and their risk of obesity through the production of various signaling molecules including appetite-stimulating hormones, inflammatory markers and neuroactive metabolites. These chemical changes, in turn, affect what a person decides to eat, how often they eat, the quantity of food they eat, what types of food they crave, metabolic function and exercise habits.
Designer microbe shows promise for reducing mercury absorption from seafood
“We envision the possibility that people could take a probiotic to offset the risk of consuming too much methylmercury, especially when pregnant,” said UCLA associate professor and director of the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center Elaine Hsiao, PhD, who is the senior author of a paper describing the research in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.
Kids with autism show altered gut microbiome-brain interactions
A collaborative study by scientists from UCLA and USC may have unlocked new information about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the gut microbiome. Changes in the relative amounts of such metabolites may interfere with the signaling between the gut and brain, influencing emotions and associated behaviors. Emeran A. Mayer, MD, contributed to the study along with co-senior author Jennifer S. Labus, PhD.
$20.6M NIH grant establishes School of Dentistry-led Human Virome Characterization Center
This grant leverages UCLA leadership and the collective expertise of interdisciplinary scientists nationwide to advance understanding of the virome's role in human health and disease across the oral–gut–brain axis. Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila – UCLA School of Dentistry Associate Dean of Research and holder of the Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Chair – will serve as contact primary investigator (PI) for the largest NIH grant awarded to the School of Dentistry in its 60-year history.
Dr. Grace M. Aldrovandi receives lifetime achievement award for pediatric research
Dr. Aldrovandi is the 2025 recipient of the Douglas K. Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Healthcare Research by the Society for Pediatric Research. This prestigious award honors a lifetime of achievement in the field of child health research. She is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work in pediatric HIV, the role of the microbiome in infant development and the impact of breast milk on child health.
$9.5M grant to study relationship between polyphenol intake, Alzheimer’s prevention & brain-gut-microbiome system
UCLA Health researchers, in collaboration with researchers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, have received $9.5M award from the National Institutes of Health with support from European funding agencies — The Science Foundation Ireland and the Public Health Agency Health & Social Care — to study the effects of polyphenols on cognitive health and the brain-gut microbiome system.