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Prof. Burt Singer: Gut microbial health could be key to health disparities

A UF infectious disease expert and mathematics professor calls for research into connections between the gut microbiome and health inequities.

new paper published in PNAS and coauthored by UF researcher Burton Singer reviews what is known about how the gut microbiome is influenced by its environment and how it influences its host. The forward-looking perspective paper also highlights what science lacks: The need for studies that explore the intersection of the gut microbiome and health inequities.

The gut is a biological pathway that links people’s lived experiences and disease, the authors write. And more research is needed to better understand how the gut microbiome intersects with health disparities, Singer says. Singer is a professor of mathematics in UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and a faculty member at UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute.

For more information, see the article in CLAS Research News.