In nature, strategic alliances can mean the difference between life and death. For humans, such vital partnerships exist between us and the trillions of microbes we unwittingly host in and on our bodies - together called the microbiome. Dr. Heidi Kong uses genomics to uncover the microbe-host interactions taking place all over our skin. Building on her work and a growing understanding of the skin microbiome, Dr. Ian Myles has developed a bacterial spray that improves eczema, an inflammatory skin disease.
Dr. Nehal Mehta currently directs the largest ongoing cohort study to date in psoriasis, which is an inflammatory skin disease associated with increased cardiovascular risk. His research is showing that local inflammation in different areas of the body such as the teeth, scalp, knees, skin, or gut has systemic consequences. And treating that local inflammation can help heal heart disease.
