An introduction to skin microbiome research, with Dr. Aayushi Uberoi PhD

This episode features Dr. Aayushi Uberoi PhD from Washington University in St. Louis (USA), speaking about the skin microbiome and various techniques for studying it. The skin is a reactive interface that protects the body, with the skin on various parts of the body looking very different because of stratifications in the epithelial layers and the local nutritional landscape. The skin microbiome in general is nutrient sparse and varies at different body sites. Research has shown that epithelial development, stratification, and differentiation are altered in the absence of the microbiota, showing the active role of the skin microbiota in regulating skin function. Microbes that inhabit the skin are shown to elicit unique immune responses with systemic effects. Communication between skin microbes and human body cells may be happening via metabolites. When conducting skin microbiome experiments, controls are important; the low biomass samples are susceptible to contamination. In the future, knowing more about the nutritional needs of the skin microbes could help guide the development of prebiotics for skin. Episode abbreviations and links: Paper showing a humanized mouse model for studying the skin microbiome: Commensal-derived tryptophan metabolites fortify the skin barrier: insights from a 50-species gnotobiotic model of human skin microbiome Paper on the skin microbiome’s contributions to wound healing: The wound microbiota: microbial mechanisms of impaired wound healing and infection Paper investigating mechanisms of how skin microbes influence skin function: Commensal Microbiota Regulates Skin Barrier Function And Repair Via Signaling Through The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Review by Belkaid and Segre: Dialogue between skin microbiota and immunity About Dr. Aayushi Uberoi PhD: Aayushi Uberoi is an Assistant professor of Pathology & Immunology and Medicine (Dermatology) in Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis. Her lab studies the host-microbe-environment interactions in regulating skin barrier. She  has studied interactions between microbes and skin since her Ph.D. research on cutaneous papillomaviruses in Dr. Paul Lambert’s lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While traditional studies of infectious skin diseases have typically focused on singular pathogens within the host, skin is colonized by a diverse array of microbes, which likely exert significant influence on epithelial characteristics. Motivated by this question, Aayushi’s postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania in Dr. Elizabeth Grice’s lab explored the role of the commensal microbiome in regulating the function of the cutaneous barrier. In the lab, Aayushi wears several hats such as conducting research, developing protocols and assays, writing, and making sure the lab has fun equipment.  Aayushi is a recipient of K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award from National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases (NIAMS/NIH), innovator award from Society of Investigative Dermatology, fellowships from Prevent Cancer Foundation and Dermatology Foundation and a Young Investigator Award from the Wound Healing Society.