News 2023

The high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet is more than just a trendy weight-loss tactic. It has also been known to help control seizures in children with epilepsy, particularly those who don’t respond to first-line anti-seizure medications. In a new UCLA study published in the journal Cell Reports, researchers demonstrate that changes to the human gut microbiome associated with the ketogenic diet can confer protection against seizures in mice. Understanding how microbiome function is altered by diet could aid in the development of new therapeutic approaches that incorporate these beneficial changes while avoiding certain drawbacks of the diet, said the study’s lead author, Gregory Lum, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Hsiao’s laboratory. Dr. Hsiao, director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, was senior author on the study. Read the story on UCLA News & Insights  |  Read Science Mag

Elaine Y. Hsiao, PhD, named among world’s most influential researchers

Dr. Hsiao, director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, was one of 40 UCLA faculty members named among the world’s most influential researchers in the sciences and social sciences. The Highly Cited Researchers list, compiled annually by analytics firm Clarivate, identifies scholars whose work has most often been cited in papers published by other researchers in their fields over the past decade. Those named to the 2023 list have authored studies that rank in the top 1% worldwide in scholarly citations. UCLA faculty who made the list

Dr. Weiss was one of three UCLA professors to have been chosen as a 2023 fellow by the National Academy of Inventors. Election to an academy fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded to inventors. Dr. Weiss holds the UC presidential chair in chemistry and leads an interdisciplinary research group at UCLA that studies the atomic-scale properties of surfaces and supramolecular assemblies. He is a member of the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center and the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Read more in UCLA Newsroom

This documentary takes viewers on a journey of discovery, revealing how the interconnectivity between the brain, body and gut affects physical and mental well-being. Dr. Mayer brings his 40 years of clinical experience and cutting-edge research to this innovative health special presented by Detroit Public TV, premiering on PBS stations beginning Friday, November 24. 

Demographic inference provides an understanding of pre-historical events, such as migrations, contractions and expansions. Additionally, demographic inference enables the ability to detect selection by providing an expectation of genetic diversity under neutral conditions. Inference of the demographic histories and selective effects of human gut commensal microbiota over the course of human history published in bioRxiv suggest that some species in North American microbiomes display contractions in population size and others expansions, potentially occurring at several key historical moments in human history over the past 1,000 to 100,000 years. Nandita Garud, PhD, assistant professor in the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, was co-senior author. Read study

The gut microbiome has a well-documented relationship with host fitness. Greater microbial diversity and abundance of specific microbes have been associated with improved fitness outcomes. Intestinal microbes also may be associated with patterns of social behaviour. However, these associations have been largely studied in captive animal models; we know less about microbiome composition as a potential driver of individual social behaviour and position in the wild. In this study published in Royal Society Open Science, Daniel T. Blumstein, PhD, and colleagues highlight a potentially consequential relationship between microbial composition and social behavior in a wild social animal. Read study

The bacteria found naturally in the digestive tract do a lot more than help digest food. Scientists have established that these microbial communities are also involved with the immune system and play a role in mental health. Now, they can add helping grow a healthy placenta during pregnancy to the list of unexpected ways the gut microbiome influences health and well-being. New research led by UCLA scientists and published today in the journal Science Advances shows that mice with depleted gut microbiomes had smaller placentas than normal mice and that the network of blood vessels between the placenta and the fetus was also less developed. “The gut microbiome affects many aspects of host physiology, and more and more evidence is suggesting that it begins to exert its influence even during prenatal life,” said senior author Elaine Hsiao, PhD, director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center. Read UCLA Newsroom article

People frequently exposed to racial or ethnic discrimination may be more susceptible to obesity and related health risks in part because of a stress response that changes biological processes and how we process food cues. Arpana Church, PhD, co-director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, was interviewed on the study that directly examined the effects of discrimination on responses to different types of food as influenced by the brain-gut microbiome system.

Periodontitis-related oral microbial dysbiosis is thought to contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuroinflammation and brain amyloid production. Since probiotics can modulate periodontitis/oral dysbiosis, this study examined the effects of a probiotic/lantibiotic, nisin, in modulating brain pathology triggered by periodontitis. Yvonne Hernandez-Kapila, DDS, PhD, UCLA Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Chair in Dentistry, et al published Nisin a probiotic bacteriocin mitigates brain microbiome dysbiosis and Alzheimer's disease-like neuroinflammation triggered by periodeontal disease in Journal of Neuroinflammation.

You are what you eat, according to the adage. But it’s not just the body that’s impacted. According to newly published research in Nature, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood can affect food choices, weight gain and even the microstructure of the brain. UCLA GI authors include Lisa A. Kilpatrick, PhD, associate researcher; Tien S. Dong, MD, PhD, assistant clinical professor of medicine; Jennifer S. Labus, PhD, adjunct professor of medicine; Bruce D. Naliboff, PhD, project scientist; Emeran A. Mayer, MD, director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience; and Arpana Gupta, PhD, co-director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center.

On September 18, 2023, the division hosted a celebration to dedicate the Donald & Andrea Goodman / Meyer and Renee Courtyard at Geffen Hall. The reception commemorated the launch of the UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center and honored the philanthropic families who made it possible. The groundbreaking center was established thanks to the generous commitment of $20 million from Donald and Andrea Goodman, and Meyer and Renee Luskin. The evening included health sciences leadership Johnese Spisso and Dr. John Mazziotta and remarks from Dr. Eric Esrailian, Dean Steven Dubinett, Dr. Elaine Y. Hsiao, the center’s inaugural director, as well as the visionary donors themselves.

Research looked at the impact of adversity experienced by women that, in some cases, occurred even before their child was conceived. When it comes to microbiome health, many people focus on the foods that will help the trillions of good bacteria in their guts thrive. But less is known about how other factors like stress and trauma influence our gut health. A provocative study suggests that a mother’s stress may leave a lasting scar on future generations by impacting the makeup of her child’s gut microbiome. “Adversity tends to get under the skin,” said Bridget Callaghan, PhD, the study’s senior author, assistant professor of psychology, and member of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center. “And this is yet another way we see adversity impacting individuals’ physiology.” Read The Washington Post article

The Spring 2023 issue of U Magazine, the alumni magazine for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, features three stories on the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center researchers and donors.

• On page 17, spotlights research by Arpana Gupta, PhD, co-director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, indicating that sex-specific brain signals that appear to confirm that different drivers lead men and women to develop obesity.
• On page 20, Elaine Hsiao, PhD, De Logi Professor of Biological Sciences and director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, is interviewed about the new center and how it will advance microbiome research at UCLA.
• On page 46, Donald and Andrea Goodman and Renee and Meyer Luskin tell the story of the $20 million gift that established and endowed the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center.

Read U Magazine

Bridget L. Callaghan, PhD, spoke with KTLA 5 Morning News about how intergenerational transmission of adversity influences the microbiome across generations. Dr. Callaghan is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, director of the Brain and Body Lab at UCLA, and member of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center. Watch interview

This study draws on a large longitudinal cohort to demonstrate that adversity experienced prenatally or during early childhood, as well as adversity experienced by the mother during her childhood, impacts the gut microbiome of second-generation children at two years old. Notably, some of the microbiome profiles linked to these types of adversity, especially at higher taxonomic levels, were similar to those associated with the child’s current and future socioemotional functioning. Additionally, microbes uniquely associated with adversity exposures or socioemotional functioning have similar immune-related functions within the gut, highlighting the need for further research into how generational adversity affects the gut microbiome’s functional potential. Bridget L. Callaghan, PhD, was senior author on this study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more in UCLA Newsroom

An estimated 40% to 50% of people will experience adversity during childhood, which can increase the risk for physical and emotional challenges when they grow up. Studies show that parents who faced difficult situations in their childhood may pass on some of those risks to their children. However, the way this intergenerational transmission of risk occurs is not well understood. In a recent study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Jessica Uy, PhD, and Bridget L. Callaghan, PhD, of the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues sought to understand how trauma gets passed from one generation to the next. They discovered that when mothers experience adversity in their childhood, it can negatively impact their mental health during and after pregnancy, which in turn, can affect their children's mental health. Read more in NIH Research Highlight

This research has huge implications for treatment. Emotion regulation techniques, mood and vulnerability factors for women, which may not be as pertinent variables to highlight when implementing obesity-interventions for men, should be considered. Watch the TODAY show video

A new study from UCLA researchers finds sex-specific brain signals that appear to confirm that different drivers lead men and women to develop obesity. “We found differences in several of the brain’s networks associated with early life adversity, mental health quality, and the way sensory stimulation is experienced. The resulting brain signatures, based on multimodal MRI imaging, may help us more precisely tailor obesity interventions based on an individual’s sex,” said Arpana Church, PhD, a brain, obesity and microbiome researcher at UCLA and senior author of the study. Read more in UCLA Health News & Insights

Looking after the multitudes of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms living in our guts could help us think better, and even offer new ways of treating mental health conditions. Elaine Hsiao, PhD, director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, provided expert commentary in this BBC article on how gut bacteria are controlling your brain.

UCLA study finds discriminatory experiences affect health of brain, body