Gut, Microbes and Health

The core activity of our group is studies of effects of diet and dietary components on the microbial population of the gut and derived effects on the host health and immune system. We investigate how diet, food ingredients and food contaminations affect the composition and activity of the intestinal bacteria in children and adults. Additionally, we are engaged in a number of projects that focus on strategies for how to alter and/or explore the potential of the gut microbiota to cure and/or prevent specific diseases.

In recent years, we have been engaged in elucidating the importance of specific environmental factors in the intestine, such as transit time and pH, for the growth and metabolism of gut bacteria.
We perform sequencing-based analyses of the gut microbial community, cultivation-based experiments, gut microbiota studies in originally germ-free animals, and trials that elucidate the physiological state of intestinal bacteria in situ.