Five-year study to assess beneficial bacteria in gut
Dr Lindsay Hall – a lecturer at the Norwich Medical School at University of East Anglia and a researcher at the Institute of Food Research (IFR) – has received a ‘New Investigator’ award from the Wellcome Trust.
The sizeable grant will fund a five-year research project into infant gut bacterial communities and how these establish within the gut and protect the body from infection.
The study
The study will also examine how antibiotics disturb this microbial community at the earliest stages of our lives, if this increases the risk of infection later in life, and will look for new ‘probiotic’ bacteria to restore the microbial community and restore the ability to fight infection.
Although the effect of antibiotics on long-term health is frequently researched in adults, very few studies have focused on their effects in the early stages of life.
Hall specialises in research into beneficial bacteria. She said: “This grant will help carry out vital investigations into how certain bacteria come to be present in the gut, the long-term results of using antibiotics, and if there is a better solution to treat infectious diseases like bacterial gastroenteritis.”
‘Growing problems’
Bacterial gastroenteritis in young babies is a growing problem in the developed world and an increasing cause of infant death in the developing world. Current treatments involve antibiotics, with more than half of all babies in Europe receiving them in their first year. But antibiotic resistance is a growing problem. Antibiotics also disturb the balance of beneficial bacteria, reducing natural defences against infection.
IFR director Prof David Boxer said: “The microbial communities living inside our guts have huge impacts on our overall health and wellbeing, yet we know comparatively little about them. This study will give us some vital insights.”
