Culturomics

The Culturomics unit conducts microbiome research to advance translational medicine using various technologies to culture and isolate strains of interest from clinical samples. The unit focuses on identifying potentially new species from clinical samples and characterizing them at both genotypic and phenotypic levels. These well-characterized strains are then selected out or manipulated to produce and deliver bioactive compounds and immunogenic peptides for gastroenterology, respiratory, women’s health, and dermatological applications. We focus currently on their role in oncology and recurrent infection, where we aim to develop live biotherapeutic products (LBPs), stable synthetic consortiums, and bacterial vector carriers.