UCSF Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine

September 2023

BCMM to collaborate on a $70M award to improve human health

We are pleased to announce that the BCMM will be collaborating with teams from UC Berkeley and Davis on a prestigious award from the TED Audacious Project. The research initiative, "Engineering the Microbiome with CRISPR to Improve our Climate and Health", received $70 million in funding from donors, making it the largest scientific project funded through The Audacious Project to date. Led by Jill Banfield and Jennifer Doudna from the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) at UC Berkeley, Matthias Hess and Ermias Kebreab (UC Davis) and Sue Lynch (BCMM) the multidisciplinary team will develop new microbiome editing and delivery tools targeting the treatment and prevention of childhood asthma and reduction of agricultural methane emissions. These efforts offer a novel microbiome-centered approach for the prevention and treatment of disease, a core mission of the BCMM.

News

Donor gift supports studies of the relationship between oral microbiome and depression

Recent studies link alterations in the oral-microbiome-brain axis with psychiatric disorders. Thanks to the generous gift from Dr. Larry Berkelhammer, BCMM investigators will lead a new study to uncover the mechanisms by which the oral microbiota may contribute to the development of Major Depressive Disorder. The study, led by Drs. Ryan Rampersaud and Susan Lynch, will analyze the oral microbiomes of both individuals with the disorder and healthy controls to unveil novel microbes, microbial metabolites, and microbe-immune interactions that play a role in modulating brain function and behavior.

Darren Dumlao is the new Assistant Director of QMAC

We are pleased to welcome to our team Dr. Darren Dumlao, the new Assistant Director of the Quantitative Metabolite Analysis Center (QMAC). Darren's experience leading other mass spectrometry facilities will be instrumental in advancing the capabilities and impact of the QMAC and BCMM.

Microbial Culturing facility purchases B.SIGHT platform

We are excited to share that the Microbial Culturing Facility recently installed a B.SIGHT instrument, a high-throughput microbial isolation platform. This microbial single-cell sorter and dispenser can accelerate large-scale bacterial/fungal isolation from clinical specimens and perform functional screening studies for a variety of applications. View here all available technologies at BCMM.

Welcome new team members!

We are very pleased to welcome on board Dr. Slavena Vylkova, PhD (upper left) as the BCMM's new Scientific Communications Manager. Four talented Research Associates - Josue Rodriguez (upper center), Jenny Lee (upper right), Jacob Brockert (lower left), and Alex Campbell (lower right) - who also joined the team to facilitate collaborative microbiome projects across biomedical disciplines.

BCMM reports updates from year 3 of support from Lynne and Mark Benioff

Each year, we summarize our achievements to our generous donors Lynne and Mark Benioff. Click here to access highlights from this years report.

Innovation

New tool for gene engineering of gut microbiota in vivo

Peter Turnbaugh, Kathy Lam and Peter Spanogiannopoulos were granted a patent for using phage-assisted selective engineering of one or more bacterial strains within a mixed microbial population in the gut of a subject. The technology allows for targeted modification of the composition or abundance of the gut microbiome.