Emily Venable

My research broadly examines what is unique about the human gut microbiome and how human-specific behaviors, such as running and food processing, restructure our microbial communities and, further, how this restructuring feeds back into host phenotype and is an agent for natural selection. I apply evolutionary and ecological frameworks to quantify how host behavior alters the nutrient state of the colonic environment and perturbs gut microbial contributions to host energy status. My research uses a comparative approach examining the gut microbiomes of humans and our great ape relatives as well as an experimental approach that includes both murine and human intervention studies.