Bioinformatics rockstar, Lola Holcomb, successfully defended her PhD dissertation today on “Anti-Inflammatory Interactions between Gut Microbiota and Broccoli Sprouts”!!!!
Holcomb, Lola. “Anti-Inflammatory Interactions between Gut Microbiota and Broccoli Sprouts”. (2025). University of Maine. Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation (forthcoming). Presentation.
Lola’s contributions to and leadership in the Ishaq Lab Team have led to numerous publications, presentations, and immeasurable professional growth and camaraderie within the group. Her contributions to our research helped us open a new avenue of focus, sparked the imagination of several undergraduates who are now involved in research, and improved the mood and collegiality of the research group with her humor, insightfulness, and poignant questions. Lola has been more of a colleague than a trainee, and the lab is delighted to see how much she’s grown as a researcher. Lola is currently searching for positions as a postdoctoral researcher, bioinformatician, or Assistant Professor at an undergraduate-focused university or college. She’ll continue to collaborate with the Ishaq Lab, as we have multiple manuscripts in review or in preparation for peer review on which she is an author.
Lola entered as a rotating first-year student in March 2022 in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering program, and declared the Ishaq Lab her dissertation lab soon after, and starting in fall of 2022 was accepted into the NRT funded for One Health in the Environment program. Troubled with indecisiveness and the desire to research, well, everything, she quickly found that using bioinformatics and big data as a lens to study microbial ecology (and in time, its relation to social equity) allowed her to do the kind of meaningful interdisciplinary research she’s always wanted to do. Lola performed 16S data analysis for multiple lab projects and developed a metagenomic analysis workflow to compare gut microbiomes of mouse models of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with broccoli as a dietary treatment. In addition to research, she instructed a graduate-level Genetics course, assisted in Dr. Ishaq’s 16S DNA Sequence Data Analysis course, tutored several Biology undergraduate students, and served as a GSBSE senator in the Graduate Student Government here at UMaine.
Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, one a month on a Friday 12:00 – 14:00 pm ET. Presented over Zoom.
After each talk, we will continue the discussions in an informal social meeting with MSE. All speakers and members of the audience are welcome to join the social meeting.
Hosted by: Sue Ishaq, MSE, and finacially supported by the University of Maine Institute of Medicine and the UMaine Cultural Affairs/Distinguished Lecture Committee.
Dr. Aidee Guzman is an assistant professor at Stanford University in the Department of Biology in the Ecology and Environmental Science group. Her research group examines agroecological approaches that could harness biodiversity and ecosystem functioning for improved agricultural resilience. Specifically, they investigate how agricultural management impacts biotic interactions (e.g. between plants, insects, and soil microbes) across scales (e.g. shifts in community structure, cascading changes in ecosystem functioning). The overarching goal of her research program is to support farmers, especially those who are historically underserved, through research, education, and outreach that builds on their innovations and demonstrates ecological pathways to agricultural resilience.
Events will be hosted January – December, 2024, on the last Friday of every month, 12:00 – 14:00 pm ET. Presented over Zoom.
After each talk, we will continue the discussions in an informal social meeting with MSE. All speakers and members of the audience are welcome to join the social meeting.
Hosted by: Sue Ishaq, MSE, and finacially supported by the University of Maine Institute of Medicine and the UMaine Cultural Affairs/Distinguished Lecture Committee.
I was interviewed by Leigh Frame and Janette Rodrigues for the GW Integrative Medicine podcast! Leigh Frame is an associate professor and Janette Rodrigues is the OIMH Admininstrative Director at the George Washington (GW) University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and they host the podcast to explore research on health.
Some of the lab are lucky enough to be able to travel to Cape Town, South Africa this August for the 19th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME)!!! This conference is held in different host cities, and brings together microbiologists from around the world to celebrate our work and foster our scientific community.
Session: Integrating equity into microbiome science from crops to communities
Convenors Sue Ishaq, University of Maine, USA Adolphe Zeze, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d’Ivoire
Date: 20-Aug-2024, session from 11:00 to 13:00. Location: Meeting Room 2.6 (2.61 – 2.64) of CTICC1 in Cape Town.
About the session: Microorganisms are critical to many aspects of biological life, and the collective microbial community, or microbiome, can be impacted by environmental factors which may be driven by social, economic, medical, or political constraints that restrict available choices and may impact our health. This session explores the way that microbes connect to social disparities, and how microbial ecology can be used to benefit public health and vulnerable populations.
Photo credit Johanna Holman.
Characterizing Gut Bacteria Associated with Sulforaphane Production
Date: 19-Aug-2024, live session from 16:30 to 17:30. Poster number: PS1.02.050. Section: Understanding microbiome dynamics to improve human health
Affiliations: 1 Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA; 2 School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA; 2 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA; 3School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, SUNY Binghamton University, Johnson City, New York, USA.
Abstract: Broccoli sprouts contain glucosinolates which can be converted into sulforaphane, an anti-inflammatory compound. Mammals do not produce the essential digestive enzymes to perform this conversion, fortunately, somegut bacteria do, and this results in high sulforaphane in the colon and systemically. Sulforaphane production has implications in treating inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis. Bacterial samples were collected from 40 all-male SPFC57BL/6 mice. Divided into four groups, mice received a combination, or lack thereof, of 2.5%dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water to induce ulcerative colitis and/or steamed broccoli sprouts at 10% of the diet. Following the trial, bacteria were isolated from jejunum and colon digesta- and mucosal-associated contents. Bacteria were grown on bacto-tryptone yeast broth media in anaerobic conditions. Collected bacteria were analyzed based on morphological data. Following initial culturing bacteria were placed in 96-well plates amongst bacto-tryptone yeast broth in four groups: with glucose, without glucose, with glucoraphanin, and with sinigrin. Plates were incubated anaerobically for 24 hours followed by growth being measured via spectrophotometry, to assess potential as a probiotic. Over four hundred bacteria were assessed, multiple of which showed signs of glucosinolate conversion. Across gram stains, approximately 80% of all analyzed showed to be gram +.
Graphic Designed by Indigo Millisor.
Funding Sources: This work was funded by the NIH, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and NSF NRT.
Steamed broccoli sprouts alleviate gut inflammation and retain gut microbiota against DSS-induced dysbiosis.
Johanna M. Holman1, Lola Holcomb2, Louisa Colucci3, Dorien Baudewyns4, Joe Balkan5, Grace Chen6, Peter L. Moses7,8, Gary M. Mawe7, Tao Zhang9, Yanyan Li1*, Suzanne L. Ishaq1*
Date: 19-Aug-2024, live session from 10:00 to 11:00 Poster number: PS1.02.007 Section: Understanding microbiome dynamics to improve human health
Affiliations: 1 School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA; 2 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA; 3 Department of Biology, Husson University, Bangor, Maine, USA; 4 Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, USA; 5 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA; 6 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; 7 Departments of Neurological Sciences and of Medicine, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA: 8 Finch Therapeutics, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA; 9 School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, SUNY Binghamton University, Johnson City, New York, USA.
Abstract: Inflammatory bowel diseases are devastating conditions of the gastrointestinal tract with limited treatments, and dietary intervention may be effective, affordable, and safe for managing symptoms. Research has identified inactive compounds in broccoli sprouts that may be metabolized by the gut microbiota into key anti-inflammatories. Our research set out to identify biogeographic locations of participating microbiota and correlate that to health outcomes. We fed specific pathogen free C57BL/6 mice either a control diet or a 10% steamed broccoli sprout diet, and gave a three-cycle regimen of 2.5% dextran sulfate sodium in drinking water over 40 days to simulate ulcerative colitis. We monitored body weight, fecal characteristics and lipocalin, and sequenced bacterial communities from the contents and mucosa of the jejunum, cecum, and colon. Mice fed the broccoli sprout diet while receiving dextran sulfate sodium performed better than mice fed control diet for all disease parameters, including increased weight gain (2-way ANOVA, p < 0.05), lower Disease Activity Index scores (2-way ANOVA, p < 0.001), and higher bacterial richness (linear regression model, p < 0.01). Bacterial communities were assorted by gut location except in the mice receiving the control diet and colitis-inducing treatment (Beta-diversity, ANOVA, p < 0.05). Importantly, our results suggest that broccoli sprouts abrogated the effects of dextran sulfate sodium on the gut microbiota, that colitis erases biogeographical patterns of bacterial communities, and that the cecum is not likely to be a contributor to colonic bacteria of interest, in a mouse model of ulcerative colitis.
Funding Sources: This work was funded by the NIH, USDA, NSF NRT, and UMaine GSBSE.
Consuming steamed broccoli sprouts as part of their diet protected the gut biogeography of microbes — which bacteria was found in which organ sampled– in the intestines of mice who were experiencing chemically induced colitis. Image by Johanna Holman.
Early life exposure to broccoli sprouts confers stronger protection against enterocolitis development in an immunological mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease.
Lola Holcomb1, Johanna Holman2, Molly Hurd3, Brigitte Lavoie3, Louisa Colucci4, Gary M. Mawe3,Peter L. Moses3,5, Emma Perry6, Allesandra Stratigakis7, Tao Zhang7, Grace Chen8, Suzanne L. Ishaq1*, Yanyan Li7*
Date: 19-Aug-2024, live session from 16:30 to 17:30 Poster number: PS1.02.002 Section: Understanding microbiome dynamics to improve human health
1 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 2 School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 3 Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 4 Department of Biology, Husson University, Bangor, Maine, 5 Finch Therapeutics, Somerville, Massachusetts, 6 Electron Microscopy Laboratory, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 7 School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, SUNY Binghamton University, Johnson City, New York, 8 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are chronic conditions characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that burden daily life, result in complications, and disrupt the gut microbiome. Many studies on diet and IBD in mice use an ulcerative colitis model, despite the availability of an immune-modulated Crohn’s Disease model. The objective of this study was to establish IL-10 deficient mice as a model for studying the role of dietary broccoli and broccoli bioactives in reducing inflammation, modifying the immune response, and supporting GI tract microbial systems. Interleukin-10-knockout (IL-10-ko) mice on a C57BL/6 background, beginning at age 4 or 7 weeks, were fed either a control diet or one containing 10% raw broccoli sprouts. Diets began 7 days prior to inoculation with Helicobacter hepaticus, which triggers Crohn’s-like symptoms in these immune-impaired mice, and ran for 2 additional weeks. Broccoli sprouts decreased (p < 0.05), fecal lipocalin (LCN2), a biomarker for intestinal inflammation, and fecal blood, diarrhea, and overall Disease Activity Index. Sprouts increased gut microbiota richness, especially in younger mice (p < 0.004), and recruited different communities in the gut (B-diversity, ANOVA, p < 0.001), especially in the colon (B-diversity, ANOVA, p = 0.03). The control group had greater prevalence and abundance of otherwise commensal bacteria which trigger inflammation in the IL-10-ko mice. Helicobacter was within the top-5 most prevalent core genera for the control group, but was not within the top-5 for the broccoli group. Disease parameters and microbiota changes were more significant in younger mice receiving broccoli. A diet containing 10% raw broccoli sprouts may be protective against negative disease characteristics of Helicobacter-induced enterocolitis in IL-10-ko mice, and younger age is the most significant factor (relative to diet and anatomical location) in driving gut bacterial community richness and similarity. The broccoli diet contributes to prevalence and abundance of bacterial genera that potentially metabolize dietary compounds to anti-inflammatory metabolites in the gut, are bacteriostatic against pathogens, and may ease disease severity.
Funding Sources: This work was funded by the NIH, USDA, NSF NRT, and UMaine GSBSE.
The Li and Ishaq labs are excited to announce a new literature review on the beneficial compounds in cruciferous vegetables was just published here in Current Developments in Nutrition, led by Tolu Esther Alaba (PhD candidate in GSBSE) and Johanna Holman (soon to be PhD candidate in Microbiology/Nutrition)!!
We’ve been researching the benefits of cruciferous vegetables on health, some of which are available directly from the plants, and some of which require the participation of certain bacteria that live in our gut. Cruciferous vegetables are loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and – what we are most interested in – the plant’s secondary compounds called glucosinolates which can be transformed into antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. Depending on the type of vegetable, and the way that it is cooked/prepared, you can end up with different types and quantities of these beneficial compounds. We are interested in how to target benefits to certain locations in the gut by inducing the gut microbiome to participate in making these compounds available to us (Figure below). The review consolidated the existing literature on cruciferous vegetables in regards to the glucosinolates and reducing inflammation in the gut.
Cruciferous vegetables or their purified compounds can ameliorate inflammatory symptoms through multiple pathways. Graphic designed by Johanna Holman.
Tolu Esther Alaba is a PhD Candidate in the GSBSE program at UMaine. Her research has focused on antioxidants in fruits and vegetables which can be used to resolve inflammation, oxidative stress, injury, cardiometabolic and chronic diseases. Since joining #TeamBroccoli in the fall of 2023, she’s completed data analyses on gut metabolites and broccoli sprouts in mice and humans, and began drafting several manuscripts, in addition to writing this literature review. Tolu plans to defend her dissertation this summer, and we hope to bring her back to the Ishaq and Li labs as a postdoctoral researcher focusing on dietary habits, cruciferous vegetable intake, and dietary metabolomics!
Johanna Holman is a PhD student in the Nutrition/Microbiology programs. She began working on broccoli sprouts with Drs. Tao Zhang and Yanyan Li over 6 years ago as a research assistant. She joined the Ishaq lab in fall 2020 as a master’s student to investigate the effects of diet on the gut microbiome, and host-microbial interactions, as part of an ongoing collaboration with Tao and Yanyan Li, and graduated with her M.S. in nutrition science in the fall of 2022. Her research combines nutritional biochemistry of broccoli sprouts with effects on gut microbes and gastrointestinal inflammation, and spans biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, and incorporates a handful of undergraduate mentees every semester. Johanna also just created a website for Imaginome Designs, her graphic design portfolio!!
Yanyan Li, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at SUNY Binghamton, and has been researching the nutritional biochemistry of broccoli sprouts for over a decade. Yanyan and Sue, along with Johanna, Tolu, and the rest of Team Broccoli have been collaborating on diet-microbe-health projects for the last 5 years!
Authors: Tolu E. Alaba1, Johanna M. Holman2 , Suzanne L. Ishaq2 , Yanyan Li2,3
Affiliations: 1 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA 04469; 2 School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA 04469; 3 School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, SUNY Binghamton University, Johnson City, New York, USA 13790
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic condition with a significant economic and social burden. The disease is complex and challenging to treat because it involves several pathologies, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, dysbiosis, and intestinal damage. The search for an effective treatment has identified cruciferous vegetables and their phytochemicals as potential management options for inflammatory bowel disease, as they contain prebiotics, probiotics, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant metabolites essential for a healthy gut. This critical narrative style review provides a robust insight into the pharmacological effects and benefits of crucifers and their documented bioactive compounds in in vitro and in vivo models, as well as clinical inflammatory bowel disease. The review highlights the significant impact of crucifer preparation and the presence of glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, flavonoids, and polyphenolic compounds, which are essential for the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative benefits of cruciferous vegetables, as well as their ability to promote the healthy microbial community and maintain the intestinal barrier. This review may serve as a viable nutritional guide for future research on methods and features essential to developing experiments, preventions, and treatments for inflammatory bowel disease. There is limited clinical information and future research may utilize current innovative tools, such as metabolomics, for adequate knowledge and effective translation into clinical therapy.
Acknowlegements
This project was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Maine Agricultural & Forest Experiment Station: Hatch Project Numbers ME022102 and ME022329 (Ishaq) and ME022303 (Li); and the National Institute of Health [Li and Ishaq; NIH/NIDDK 1R15DK133826-01], and the Allen Foundation [Li and Ishaq, #5409406]. Financial sponsors had no role in study design, data interpretation, or report writing.
The UMaine Student Symposium is an annual event featuring research presentations from undergraduate and graduate students, and is a way to share student research on campus and with the Maine public.
All of the abstracts for the full program, and previous years, are available here.
The event is free to attend, and will take place at the New Balance Field House on the UMaine Orono Campus, Friday April 12, 2024.
Several students from the Ishaq Lab will be presenting their ongoing work:
Early Life Broccoli Sprout Consumption Confers Stronger Protection Against Enterocolitis in an Immunological Mouse Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Author(s): Lola Holcomb, Johanna Holman, Sue Ishaq.
Type: poster presentation
Submission category: Biomedical sciences
Abstractnumber 1001: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are chronic conditions characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract that heavily burden daily life, result in surgery or other complications, and disrupt the gut microbiome. How IBD influences gut microbial ecology, especially biogeographic patterns of microbial location, and how the gut microbiota can use diet components and microbial metabolites to mediate disease, are still poorly understood. This study aimed to resolve such questions. Many studies on diet and IBD in mice use a chemically induced ulcerative colitis model, despite the availability of an immune-modulated Crohn’s Disease model. Interleukin-10-knockout (IL-10-KO) mice on a C57BL/6 background, beginning at age 4 or 7 weeks, were fed either a control diet or one containing 10% (w/w) raw broccoli sprouts which was high in the sprout-sourced anti-inflammatory sulforaphane. Diets began 7 days prior to inoculation with Helicobacter hepaticus, which triggers Crohn’s-like symptoms in these immune-impaired mice, and ran for two additional weeks. Key findings of this study suggest that the broccoli sprout diet increases sulforaphane concentration in plasma; decreases weight stagnation, fecal blood, and diarrhea associated with enterocolitis; and increases microbiota richness in the gut, especially in younger mice. Sprout diets resulted in some anatomically specific bacterial communities in younger mice, and reduced the prevalence and abundance of potentially pathogenic or otherwise-commensal bacteria which trigger inflammation in the IL-10 deficient mouse, for example, Escherichia coli and Helicobacter. Overall, the IL-10-KO mouse model is responsive to a raw broccoli sprout diet and represents an opportunity for more diet-host-microbiome research.
Lola’s poster from the CIMM 2024 meeting.
Steamed Broccoli Sprouts Alleviate Gut Inflammation and Retain Gut Microbiota Against DSS-induced Dysbiosis.
Author(s): Johanna Holman, Lola Holcomb, Sue Ishaq.
Type: oral presentation, 9:45 am
Submission Category: Biomedical Sciences
Abstract number 1002: Inflammatory bowel diseases are devastating conditions of the gastrointestinal tract with limited treatments, and dietary intervention may be effective, affordable, and safe for managing symptoms. Research has identified inactive compounds in broccoli sprouts that may be metabolized by the gut microbiota into key anti-inflammatories. Our research set out to identify biogeographic locations of participating microbiota and correlate that to health outcomes. We fed specific pathogen free C57BL/6 mice either a control diet or a 10% steamed broccoli sprout diet, and gave a three-cycle regimen of 2.5% dextran sulfate sodium in drinking water over 40 days to simulate ulcerative colitis. We monitored body weight, fecal characteristics and lipocalin, and sequenced bacterial communities from the contents and mucosa of the jejunum, cecum, and colon. Mice fed the broccoli sprout diet while receiving dextran sulfate sodium performed better than mice fed control diet for all disease parameters, including increased weight gain (2-way ANOVA, p < 0.05), lower Disease Activity Index scores (2-way ANOVA, p < 0.001), and higher bacterial richness (linear regression model, p < 0.01). Bacterial communities were assorted by gut location except in the mice receiving the control diet and colitis-inducing treatment (Beta-diversity, ANOVA, p < 0.05). Importantly, our results suggest that broccoli sprouts abrogated the effects of dextran sulfate sodium on the gut microbiota, that colitis erases biogeographical patterns of bacterial communities, and that the cecum is not likely to be a contributor to colonic bacteria of interest, in a mouse model of ulcerative colitis.
Johanna’s poster from the ASN 2023 meeting.
Using Steamed Broccoli Sprouts to Better Understand Bacterial Glucosinolate Metabolism
Abstract number 418: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) lead to dysfunction of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, resulting in disruption to overall health. These diseases can affect people of all ages and are present on a global scale. Research has demonstrated that diets high in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, are associated with decreases in GI inflammation. Broccoli contains glucoraphanin, which through metabolism by gut bacteria, can become an anti-inflammatory compound, sulforaphane. Recent research has validated the use of steamed broccoli sprouts in the diet of mice to reduce inflammation and resolve symptoms of IBD. Isolated microbiota samples obtained from various locations in the GI of these mice are being investigated for the presence of glucoraphanin-metabolizing genes from a common gut bacteria, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta). Similar analyses being conducted on human fecal samples from individuals who consumed steamed broccoli sprouts for 28 days have demonstrated decreases in the presence of B. theta. This result was not anticipated and has strengthened beliefs that B. theta is not the primary species performing glucoraphanin metabolism, thus prompting further analyses of the fecal samples from mice and humans for glucoraphanin-metabolizing genes of other common GI bacteria. Genomes of isolates from the gut of mice which have high quantities of glucoraphanin-metabolizing genes will be sequenced for identification. This information will help to identify potential bacterial candidates for future research on probiotic development.
I was invited to give three talks on the west coast in March, which aligned so well I was able to string them together into a mini “speaking tour”. I was looking forward to seeing work-related and non-work-related friends, and using a few of the days to visit more of the incredible ecosystems.
Grove of the Titans in the Redwood National Forest.
I presented three versions of a talk called “Place and time matter for gut microbes making anti-inflammatories from broccoli sprouts”, to tailor it to the audiences and time slots at each location. The talk incorporated various amounts of the #BroccoliProject and work with the Microbes and Social Equity working group.
Lola Holcomb and Tolu Alaba, both PhD candidates working on broccoli sprouts and gut microbes, presented posters at CIMM. This conference features microbiome research in the contexts of health, agriculture, and environments.
Jotham Suez and I found time to check out the cherry blossoms at the Japanese Friendship Garden.A sunset in La Jolla.The view from La Jolla cliffs.Lola Holcomb presented her work on broccoli sprouts and Crohn’s Disease models.Tolu Alaba with her poster on metabolomics and new baby!
I presented my research and my work on the Microbes and Social Equity working group to students, faculty, and the DEI committee.
The views of Puget Sound are beautiful.Sean Gibbons and I went to the opening night of One Thousand Pieces.There are glass sculptures in the garden near the base of the side needle.I visited the incredible Chihuly Glass Museum.
Ayodeji Olaniyi defended his Master’s of Animal Science thesis today!! His project focused on cultures of bacteria that were isolated from the biofilms in scallop larvae hatchery tanks, to understand how they might be impacting larvae or microbial community dynamics in the tank. This was part of a series of studies and a larger collaboration on scallop health in Maine. He has previously presented at the 2024 NACE/MAS aquaculture conference for which he won a travel award from the UMaine Aquaculture research Insitute, and the 2023 UMaine Student Research Symposium where he won an award for his poster. He joined my lab in early 2022 to increase his technical research skills, and has been investigating the bacteria isolated from biofilms associated with different scallop hatchery tank systems.
He is originally from Nigeria, where he studied animal science and gathered a lot of practical experience in animal production and proper farm maintenance. He obtained a Bachelor of Science from Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Nigeria, and worked as a veterinary assistant and as a technical advisor at AlphaSage services, in Ibadan, Nigeria.
He has already begun the next phase of his career, as he started working as a research technician at a health lab in Indiana, where he has been combining his microbiology and animal health skills with molecular genetics, and adding to the list of animal systems he has worked with. And, his thirst for knowledge is still growing – we can’t wait to see where his passion for research takes him!
Ashley Reynolds passed the exam last week to become a Registered Dietician!! She has been working towards a research career that combines health, nutriton, and now: microbes! Ashley been a PhD student with Yanyan Li and I since September 2023 working on #TeamBroccoli, and being the participant manager for the diet trial we are conductng. Prior to joining as a PhD student, she completed several degrees and training programs in nutrition:
Ashley Reynolds, M.S., R.D.
Doctor of Philosophy student, Human Nutrition and Food Sciences. Ashley is being co-advisor by Dr. Yanyan Li.
Ashley began her academic journey at the University of Maine completing her undergraduate degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition in 2021 as a Maine Top Scholar. Ashley then pursued a Master’s degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine. Ashley’s master’s degree research focused on exploring intuitive eating in college students. This research aimed to understand and promote a healthy relationship with food among this demographic. She also took on the role of a teaching assistant for several nutrition classes while completing that degree. In 2023, Ashley successfully completed a dietetic internship and shortly after passed her RD exam to become a registered dietitian. Currently, Ashley is back at the University of Maine, pursuing her Ph.D. in Food Science and Human Nutrition. She is incredibly interested in nutrition therapy and is beginning her research looking into the microbiome and metabolomic pathways in the context of IBD. The current research uses both human and mouse data to determine the effects broccoli sprouts has in individuals with IBD.
The Ishaq Lab 