In vitro and in silico models of gut bacterial diversity and its impacts on human health

Gut bacteria play a vital role in human digestion and protection from disease, yet understanding of how these communities influence host function has been limited, and reliant on experiments on rodents. This project will devise new in vitro and in silico models to replace the use of rodents and to increase understanding of interactions between gut bacterial diversity and human cell function, focusing on the fermentation of fibre and its effects on human cells.