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Research of excellence

on microbiome and health

Introduction and Institutions

We investigate how the microbiome interacts with the environment (diet, stress) and the body to influence all aspects of health and disease. Specifically, we focus on the role that intestinal microorganisms and their metabolites play in the regulation of the immune, endocrine and nervous systems, impacting our physical and mental health. Our ultimate goal is to design microbiome-based diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic solutions to positively shape health promotion.

Ojectives

Mental health

Understand how psychological stress and the microbiome influences the development of mental and physical comorbidities, such as depression and cardiovascular disease.

Obesity and metabolic health

Understand how the gut microbiome and the diet regulate neuroendocrine and immune pathways involved in obesity and associated metabolic complications (e.g., type 2 diabetes).

Immune health

Understand how the gut microbiome trains and regulates the immune system, protecting against a range of diseases from infectious, like COVID-19, to autoimmune.

Healthy and sustainable nutrition

Exploit natural microbiomes (plants, soils, animals, marine, air) to improve the nutritional quality and safety of foods, protecting environmental and human health.

Bioinformatics and synthetic microbiotas

Develop user-friendly bioinformatic tools to better understand the functioning of complex biological systems and to produce bio-therapeutic bacteria and microbiotas for health promotion.

From the laboratory to society

Develop microbiome-based diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies and generate impact, transferring the knowledge to the society and industry.

Publications

This is only a summary of our outstanding publications. To see all of them, click on THIS LINK.

Date	Title	Author/s	Medium
2024-09-23	Christensenella minuta mitigates behavioral and cardiometabolic hallmarks of social defeat stress	Agusti A, Molina-Mendoza GV, Tamayo M, Rossini V, Cenit MC, Frances-Cuesta C, Tolosa-Enguis V, Gómez Del Pulgar EM, Flor-Duro A, Sanz Y.	Biomed Pharmacother
2024-08-19	Obesity and the gut microbiota: implications of neuroendocrine and immune signaling	Romaní-Pérez M, Líebana-García R, Flor-Duro A, Bonillo-Jiménez D, Bullich-Vilarrubias C, Olivares M, Sanz Y.	FEBS J
2024-06-24	The gut microbiota and diabetes: research, translation, and clinical applications – 2023 Diabetes, Diabetes Care, and Diabetologia Expert Forum.	Byndloss M, Devkota S, Duca F, Niess JH, Nieuwdorp M, Orho-Melander M, Sanz Y, Tremaroli V, Zhao L.	Diabetologia
2024-06-06	Bacteroides uniformis CECT 7771 requires adaptive immunity to improve glucose tolerance but not to prevent body weight gain in diet-induced obese mice	Romaní-Pérez M, López-Almela I, Bullich-Vilarrubias C, Evtoski Z, Benítez-Páez A, Sanz Y.	Microbiome
2024-02-22	Nav1.8-expressing neurons control daily oscillations of food intake, body weight and gut microbiota in mice	Bullich-Vilarrubias C, Romaní-Pérez M, López-Almela I, Rubio T, García CJ, Tomás-Barberán FA, Sanz Y.	Commun Biol