Pleased to share our new publication describing a novel UC Davis course aimed at improving equitable representation in microbiology and to build literacy in microbiology and science broadly. The course uniquely integrated microbiology, Indigenous studies, science and technology studies, and arts and performance. The course participants included students in 12 majors across science, engineering, humanities, and arts.

The Provost’s Undergraduate Fellowship (PUF) is a competitive award which supports undergraduate students doing research or creative projects under the guidance of UC Davis faculty members. We are so pleased that Sahana's proposal was selected for funding! In her project, she will be investigating the microorganisms in fermented lentils. She plans on quantifying, isolating, and identifying microorganisms present in the lentil ferments. She hopes to find some unique lactic acid bacteria and learn about their metabolism and how they may be useful for supporting human health.

In this episode, ISAPP’s current President Prof. Maria Marco PhD and past President Prof. Dan Merenstein join the podcast hosts for a conversation about highlights in biotic science from the past year. Prof. Marco points out a paper published in Nature Microbiology, the result of an ISAPP discussion group exploring whether diet may be a confounder of biotic effects in clinical studies. The group concluded that scientists should work with dietitians to include data on participants’ habitual diet in future studies on biotics – particularly with on prebiotics.

Lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables (FVs) such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and fermented olives and nonalcoholic juices have a long history as dietary staples. Herein, the production steps and microbial ecology of lacto-fermented FVs are discussed alongside findings from human and laboratory studies investigating the health benefits of these foods.

Alejandra Mejia-Caballero's presentation on the diversity and function of Lactobacillus amylovorus in the pig intestine was selected for an award at the UC Davis Host Microbe Interaction Annual Retreat at held at Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, October 2025. Congratulations Alejandra!

We were honored for excellent performance maintaining a culture of laboratory safety. This award was the result of hard work by current and former lab members. It was wonderful to be acknowledged in this way. For more information, see here. 

It remains a challenge in microbiology fully enumerage living (viable) microbes. This has implications for probiotics and other biotics research. You can find the blog post here. 

Diet is a major determinant of the gastrointestinal microbiome composition and function, yet our understanding of how it impacts the efficacy of prebiotics and probiotics is limited. In an ISAPP led paper published in Nature Microbiology, we examined current evidence of dietary influence on prebiotic and probiotic efficacy in human studies, including potential mechanisms.

Check out the discussion and resources provided on this recent UC Davis podcast. We talk about the state of the science on probiotics and why the diverse microbes in fermented foods should not be called probiotics. It was fun to taste some different fermented foods and biotic products available in the supermarket today,

Congratulations to Lei on completion of her dissertation research and PhD degree in Microbiology. Her dissertation, "Bioactivity of secreted compounds made by fermented vegetable-associated lactobacill" includes a detailed review on the bioactive compounds in lacto-fermented fruits and vegetables and several chapters dedicated to understanding the impacts of fermented food metabolites broadly and bacteriocins specifically in the digestive tract. We are thrilled that Lei will be continuing her work in the Marco lab as a Postdoc starting November 2024.