不良研究所

His lab may be only a year old, but research into the human gut microbiome has landed a University of 不良研究所 researcher a position with an international scholars network.

, PhD, an assistant professor in the and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Molecular Genetics for Microbiome Editing, joined the 2026-2028 cohort of the program in April 1.

Bakkeren鈥檚 research will focus on the gut microbiome, and how it can be engineered to correct health outcomes.

The CIFAR Global Scholars Program gives early career researchers the opportunity to develop and lead high-risk, high-reward interdisciplinary work. Scholars receive two years of funding for their projects.

Bakkeren, who started his lab in 2025, is believed to be the second U不良研究所 scientist to receive the award after , PhD, in 2024.  

鈥淭here鈥檚 thousands of species of microbes that colonize our bodies, and I鈥檓 interested in how they interact with each other and how we can use these interactions to our advantage,鈥� says Bakkeren.

The human gut microbiome is incredibly important, he explains, as our microbes assist in digestion and are known to help train and boost the immune system.

It鈥檚 also one of a kind. The gut microbiome is unique for each person, and its composition changes throughout the course of an individual鈥檚 life, which presents a challenge when it comes to health care.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just apply one solution to everyone; it needs to be individualized,鈥� Bakkeren says.

鈥淔irst, we need to understand how turnover in a microbiome occurs, so that we can predict what happens if we were to introduce something new to our own microbiome.鈥�

The process requires Bakkeren鈥檚 research group to build artificial communities using different combinations of human gut microbes. The technique they use allows for quick screening of multiple communities at a time, speeding up the identification of interesting cases.

鈥淭he goal of this part of the project is to get into the details of which species are important, and how they contribute,鈥� he explains, noting that microbes behave differently when they are in an environment alone and in competition against other species.

鈥淚n another project, we鈥檙e going to pit specific microbes against each other in a competitive environment and see whose survival strategies and adaptations allow them to thrive,鈥� Bakkeren says, describing this part of the work as a 鈥渂acterial fight club.鈥�

It might sound silly, he admits, but that portion of the study will help researchers combat harmful types of bacteria that pose threats to human health by introducing or manipulating bacteria themselves instead of using conventional antibiotics.

鈥淲hen we think about how microbes are successful, we can repurpose that information for therapeutic use down the road,鈥� Bakkeren says.