That is how ISB microbiome researcher Dr. Sean Gibbons kicked off a recent Facebook Live Q&A.
Gibbons, who joined ISB as Washington Research Foundation Distinguished Investigator and assistant professor in June 2018 and who runs the Gibbons Lab, explained the nascent field of microbiome research.
“We’ve only really come to appreciate (the human microbiome) in the last couple of decades,” Gibbons said. “My lab studies the ecology and evolution of these microbial communities and how they work, how they assemble, who interacts with whom — we try to understand the basic ground rules underlying the communities.”
Gibbons’ discussion ranged from general questions (What is it the human microbiome? Can we change it? What does a healthy one look like?) to factors that can affect the microbiome (Should I use Purell? Can I formula-feed my kids? What do antibiotics do to my microbiome?) to exciting and emerging developments in the field (Is there a connection between the microbiome and cancer? What is a fecal transplant? Where will microbiome research go in the next decade?).
