The gut microbiome is complex and personalized, but scientists are starting to understand the characteristics of a healthy microbiome, and how a thriving microbiome leads to overall well-being. The question many people are asking is, “How do I keep my microbiome healthy?” Fiber is the fuel for the health-promoting microbes in the gut, yet only one in 20 Americans eat the recommended amount of fiber.

To Dr. Clay Swackhamer, the question of how dietary fibers promote or inhibit specific types of gut bacteria involves a mixture of chemistry, biology, ecology, and engineering. As a USDA-NIFA postdoctoral fellow at Purdue, Clay studied corn bran fibers and their effects on the gut microbiome. Out of that research he developed modified fibers that increased the relative abundance of certain healthy gut microbes like Bifidobacterium and Roseburia, while maintaining high levels of butyrate, an anti-inflammatory nutrient produced by gut microbes.

As part of the Moore Family Center and Dallas Laboratory, Clay is working on a device called the SHIME (Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem), along with PhD student Jillien Zukaitis, to accurately simulate the digestion of milk in the infant gut. This work could help researchers better understand the effect of milk processing or fortification on the release of bioactive components of milk (like peptides) to improve nutrition for this special population.

Currently, Clay and Jillien are focused on simulating the stomach and small intestinal phases of infant digestion using SHIME — stay tuned for updates on this project!