Netflix documentary, “Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut,” nominated for four Emmy Awards
Dr. Church, co-director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, provided expert commentary in this Emmy-nominated documentary that delves into the digestive system and illuminates the role gut health plays in our overall well-being. It was nominated for outstanding lifestyle program among other award categories. The documentary is still available to stream on Netflix in case you missed it.
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, the trillions of microorganisms living inside the intestines. The study, recently published in Nature Communications, looked at the gut microbiome of kids with ASD, a condition that can make it difficult to understand social cues and interact with others. In the study, children with ASD had fewer neuroactive metabolites, which are generated by gut microbes when they break down food components such as amino acids and complex carbohydrates to create energy and communicate with the nervous system.
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, a distinguished research professor at UCLA’s Division of Digestive Diseases, contributed to the study along with co-senior author Jennifer S. Labus, PhD, an adjunct professor in the same department. Read full article in UCLA Health News & Insights
Designer microbe shows promise in reducing mercury absorption from seafood
An engineered gut microbe can detoxify methylmercury, reducing the amount that passes into the brain and developing fetuses of mice fed a diet rich in fish, UCLA and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists have discovered. “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 Y. Hsiao, PhD, who is the senior author of a paper describing the research in Cell Host & Microbe. Read full story in UCLA Newsroom | Also highlighted in Forbes, Discover, NIEHS, and TheScientist
$20.6M NIH grant establishes School of Dentistry-led Human Virome Characterization Center
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $20.6M million grant over five years to establish one of five Human Virome Characterization Centers (HVCC), leveraging 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. (NIH U54 AG089335 Human Virome Characterization Center for 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. Among the four multiple primary investigators (MPIs) is Dr. Clara Lajonchere, deputy director of UCLA’s Institute for Precision Health (IPH). The Center's discovery team will comprise diverse specialists from UCLA, Baylor College of Medicine, the Mayo Clinic, UC San Diego, USC, Penn State, and the NIH/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). Learn more in UCLA School of Dentistry News
Protein undernutrition results in impaired growth and neurobehavioural development in children
Elaine Y. Hsiao, PhD, director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, and colleagues published Murine maternal microbiome modifies adverse effects of protein undernutrition on offspring neurobehavior in Nature Microbiology, which gives insights on how maternal consumption of a low protein diet during the pregnancy leads to lasting effects on maternal milk and immune status during the postpartum period.
Review article reports how the microbiota shapes the life trajectory of mucosal-associated invariant T cells and thereby impact human health and disease conditions
Lili Yang, PhD, professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics and the Department of Bioengineering, published in Trends of Microbiobiology, how the microbiota significantly influences the life trajectory of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, affecting their development from hematopoietic stem cells, peripheral migration, and functional roles as mature cells. The microbiota has the potential to be utilized as a ‘bug-drug’ to enhance the antitumor functions of MAIT cells, presenting a promising strategy for improving cancer immunotherapy. Read review here
Common antidepressants could help the immune system fight cancer, UCLA study finds
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, significantly enhanced the ability of T cells to fight cancer and suppressed tumor growth across a range of cancer types in both mouse and human tumor models, the study, published in Cell, found. “It turns out SSRIs don’t just make our brains happier; they also make our T cells happier — even while they’re fighting tumors,” said Lili Yang, PhD, senior author of the new study and a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center. “These drugs have been widely and safely used to treat depression for decades, so repurposing them for cancer would be a lot easier than developing an entirely new therapy.” Dr. Yang is also exploring the serotonin-cancer-microbiome network. Learn more in UCLA Newsroom
Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila, DDS, PhD, named an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow
Over a 30-plus-year career, Dr. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila has advanced knowledge of periodontal disease, oral and neck cancers, and the effect of the human microbiome/virome on these illnesses. Now, the UCLA School of Dentistry’s associate dean for research and holder of the Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Chair will be recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. Learn more in the UCLA School of Dentistry News
Microbiome Centers Consortium
Members of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center participated in the 2025 Microbiome Centers Consortium (MCC) meeting. The MCC is a cooperative, inclusive and collaborative network of microbiome centers that aims to accelerate the understanding of all microbiomes. Learn more about the Microbiome Centers Consortium
Grace M. Aldrovandi, MD, CM, receives lifetime achievement award for pediatric research
Dr. Aldrovandi, chief of the division of infectious diseases at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 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. Her research has significantly advanced the understanding of how microbial communities influence outcomes in HIV-exposed but uninfected infants, leading to new insights into early-life immunity.
A dedicated physician-scientist, Dr. Aldrovandi has maintained continuous NIH funding for over two decades, trained future physician-scientists and mentored students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Andrea S. Shin, MD, MSCR, receives 2025 ACG Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award
The American College of Gastroenterology’s (ACG) Established Investigator Bridge Funding Award is a two-year award to serve as bridge funding for established investigators. This bridge funding grant of $150,000 per year for two years is designed to support researchers principally focused on digestive or liver diseases, and to sustain their competitive, patient-oriented research programs during a gap in federal program funding. Dr. Shin, health sciences associate clinical professor of medicine, will apply the funding to support her research on microbiome endophenotypes over time in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
