Project Title: Modifying the Microbiome
BASIS Advisor: Mr. Thomas
Internship Location: BioLabs
Onsite Mentor: Mr. Neal Gidvani
A microbiome is a collection of microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, eukarya, etc., in a certain ecosystem. The human gut microbiome plays a vital role in health and fitness; research has also shown that the microbiome is responsible for many diseases, such as lactose intolerance, dysbiosis, and diabetes, just to name a few. Unfortunately, a majority of over-the-counter probiotics are very general and most don’t even survive the harsh conditions of the stomach. Conditions associated with an imbalance of the gut microbiome could be suppressed or even cured with proper probiotics. My project has three main goals. The first is to find out how the microbiome affects athletes and how certain bacteria are helpful for an athletic lifestyle. The second is to see if one can acquire these microbes and if it is possible to change the microbiome at all. The third is to create an easier way to represent an individual's microbiome. I will sequence my own DNA and get involved with the actual formation of probiotics in the lab at BioLabs. I will write a report on the common organisms found in athlete’s microbiomes and compare them to my own, as well as the process of sequencing a microbiome and formulating a custom probiotic for each microbiome. I will discuss what makes a healthy microbiome and reflect on the accuracy of probiotics and how they are able to affect change on an individual's microbiome.
My Posts
Week 11: Wrapping Up
Hi Everyone, This week I wasn’t able to see the results for my second trial. Hopefully they will be ready next week. Other than working on the presentation and the final product there wasn’t anything to do this week. I also couldn’t go to San Diego so I couldn’t work on anything else around the […]
Week 10: Extracting My Sample
Hi Everyone, This week I was able to extract my DNA sample. Although from scratch it would be a very long and difficult process there are pre-made kits that make it much easier. The sample is lysed in a buffer solution and a tablet is placed into the sample and buffer solution. The tablet absorbs […]
Week 8: Increasing Energy with Probiotics
Hi Everyone, This week I was researching the effect of probiotics (and the microbiome in general) on energy levels. Many customers have said in their surveys that one of their main desired results from the probiotic is an increase in energy. I wanted to know how effective probiotics can be in enhancing energy. First I […]
Week 9: Taking a Break
Hi Everyone, This week I was not able to go to San Diego because we were traveling to visit colleges. As a result I didn’t get to work on the project much. I was however, able to mail my sample in from Oregon for the second round of sequencing. Next week I will begin working […]
Week 7: What do Antibiotics do to the Microbiome?
Hi everyone, I am now taking the full dosage of probiotics instead of the primer. I was planning on tracking my diet to collect more data for the next time I sequence my DNA but I realized that I eat WAY too much and often to track all of it so I decided against it. […]
Week 6: Starting the Journey
Hi Everyone, This week I finally got to start taking the probiotic. During the first week of taking the probiotic I am taking the primer, a less intense version of the actual supplement to help introduce the body to the sudden influx of microbes. In addition to the introduction of the probiotic I also completed […]
Week 5: Creating the Probiotic
Hi Everyone, After getting the sequencing results it is time to start creating the probiotic. I spent the majority of this week researching how probiotics changes the gut microbiome and how to help the helpful microbes flourish and how to eliminate the harmful ones. I wanted to learn how individual strains are chosen for personalized […]
Week 4: Getting ready for Sequencing
Hi Everyone, This week I finished the library prep process on the samples. I had to redo three of the samples before moving on to the sequencing step. The next step in the process is known as qPCR. For the purpose of this project I will be using KAPABIOSYSTEMS qPCR procedure. This procedure has four […]
Week 3: Preparing the Samples
Hello Everyone, This week I got to work in the lab and I am in the process of preparing the samples for sequencing. There are 24 DNA samples and I am isolating the DNA from the stool samples. The journey from DNA sample to sequencer is quite an extensive process. This week I was working […]
Week 2: Analysis of my Microbiome
Hi Everyone, Although we were on break this week I still did some work on my project. I wasn’t able to travel to San Diego but my microbiome was sequenced and I am able to view the results. I am able to see all 11,820,002 microbes in my gut and their concentrations. Of course I […]
Week 1: Research/Introduction of the Microbiome
Hello Everyone, This past week I have been researching the microbiome and creating a foundation for my project. I have been reading articles and watching videos to understand the importance of the human microbiome and how it affects the individuals health. My goal for this week was to understand what makes a healthy microbiome and […]