Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Chicago received a $451,000 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective August 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031. This award supports fundamental research to elucidate the mechanistic relationships between diet, microbial community metabolism, and gut microbiome ecology. The research will systematically interrogate how defined dietary macronutrients shape the configuration and function of a complex, defined human-derived microbiome (HCOM2) both in vitro and in vivo, with emphasis on understanding how microbial consortia cooperatively metabolize complex nutrients and identifying genetic and chemical underpinnings of microbiome-diet interactions.

The project will deliver mechanistic insights into microbial community cooperation and nutrient digestion at the strain and community level, along with predictive bioinformatic tools and dietary technologies applicable to modeling and reshaping existing microbiomes. Deliverables include experimental characterization of HCOM2 dynamics across a panel of defined growth environments, differential genomic signature analysis for predicting microbiome digestion capacity, and validation of findings through in vivo and ex vivo studies. These research products are expected to bridge the current gap between correlating microbiota configurations with physiologic states and establishing causal mechanistic relationships, advancing precision engineering approaches for diverse microbial communities.