← NSFGrants
HomeNsf Awards

CAREER: Developing Synthetic Microbiome Mimics to Study Microbe-Host Interactions — NSF Award to University of Washington (WA, $57

The human gut houses trillions of bacteria important for health. Bacteria help maintain the gut lining and balance the immune system by sending signals to the host. These signals can come from the bacterial outer membrane and from small molecules such as fatty acids produced by bacteria. Many of these signals are gener

Award titleCAREER: Developing Synthetic Microbiome Mimics to Study Microbe-Host Interactions
Award ID2540512
AwardeeUniversity of Washington
CitySEATTLE
StateWA
Amount obligated$574,462
Principal investigatorShijie Cao
ProgramEngineering of Biomed Systems
Start date07/01/2026
AbstractThe human gut houses trillions of bacteria important for health. Bacteria help maintain the gut lining and balance the immune system by sending signals to the host. These signals can come from the bacterial outer membrane and from small molecules such as fatty acids produced by bacteria. Many of these signals are generated in the lower intestine, and it is often difficult to study what each signal does. Using live bacteria (or probiotics) to study these effects can also be challenging, because o
SourceNSF Awards

🔍 Search all NSF awards →