Early-life Microbiome and (Neuro)development

How does the infant gut shape early brain development? Our lab studies how the infant gut microbiome is assembled over the first years of life, and how microbial community composition and metabolic function relate to neurodevelopmental trajectories. Using longitudinal birth cohorts, including Khula (South Africa) and ECHO/RESONANCE (United States), we have shown that early gut microbiome features are associated with later brain structure and cognitive outcomes, extending microbiome–brain research into typical, healthy child development. In South African infants, we found that microbial genes involved in neuroactive metabolism (including pathways related to GABA, glutamate, tryptophan, and short-chain fatty acids) track with visual cortical development, highlighting microbial contributions to early neural plasticity. We also developed a high-resolution microbiome age model that captures conserved global patterns of infant microbial succession and provides a normative benchmark for assessing early gut maturation. We are now expanding these efforts into tools and platforms that make microbiome–development insights and resources more accessible..