Our group (Church lab, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University) is sequencing the microbiome of elite athletes to identify and isolate novel probiotic bacteria for applications in performance and recovery. Over the past two years we have made a series of discoveries to identify differences in the microbiome between elite athletes and non-athletes, as well as bacteria that change before, during, and after athletic events. With this wealth of genomic information we have been able to discover several novel probiotic candidates that potentially promote recovery and energy metabolism within their elite athletic hosts. Currently these probiotic candidates are being studied within the laboratory to better understand their unique properties. Moving forward, we will continue to isolate and characterize additional bacterial species that power the extreme phenotypes we observe within our athletic cohorts, with a particular focus being paid to the areas of endurance, strength, mental toughness, and recovery. We'll ultimately be purifying these novel probiotics and functionally validating for purposes of commercializing as nutrtional ingredients that will benefit all athletes, as well as the general population.

FitBiomics: Understanding elite microbiomes for performance and recovery applications

254th National Meeting (2017)

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