Elizabeth Johnson, Ph.D.

Research

The Johnson lab will explore how the fats in human milk support the production of health-promoting metabolites by the gut microbiome. Developing a robust microbiome in the first months of life lays the foundation for a lifetime of healthy metabolism and immunity. Although the lipids present in human milk have the potential to significantly shape a baby’s intestinal microbiome, little is known about which specific lipids provide positive effects and how their absence in infant formulas affects the function of the microbiome. My lab has developed a system for identifying and determining the metabolic byproducts of bacteria that consume dietary lipids. Using these methods, my research group was able to determine how exposure to a particular class of lipids found in human milk altered the metabolic output of intestinal microbes. Now, coupling this system with advanced techniques in molecular biology, biochemistry, bacterial genetics, and metabolomics, my lab will expand this analysis to comprehensively characterize the microbes that ingest dietary fats. To further understand the consequences of diet-dependent microbial metabolite production, we will then analyze the contents of infant diapers to determine how the presence of these gut-derived microbial metabolites correlate with gastrointestinal health—work that could lead to the development of interventions that will support a healthy microbiome and support families in providing optimal nutrition for their babies.