How can the microbes within you affect your health?

Over the past several years, increasing evidence has revealed the key role that microbes play in human health and disease. Researchers at McGill University, in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary Canadian microbiome research platform IMPACTT, aim to build on this research to bridge the gap in knowledge between correlation and causation in various diseases, including colorectal cancer.

This knowledge will be used to design tools of clinical value for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases associated with the microbiome.

Philippe Gros’ research seeks out genes, proteins and pathways in mice that relate to complex human diseases. He focuses on infectious diseases and cancer. He studies the genetic factors that may predispose us to disease, cause it, or result in drug resistance during treatment. Gros and his team aim to create diagnostic tools and small molecule drugs to help treat diseases, using the knowledge gained from their studies of mice.