N acyl amides are a newly discovered lipid class that exists within both animals and humans. It has been previously studied that N-acyl amides can interact with GPCRs as either agonist or antagonists depending on what GPCRs are being looked at. From data collected from the American Gut paper which focused on gut samples taken from individuals different countries we were able to come up with predicted N acyl amide structures. We can use in silico docking predictions to test these proposed structures to come up with novel N acyl amides that can later be developed into GPCR agonists or antagonists.

The diversity of soil microbes results in extensive interspecies interactions. These communities play a major role in the ecosystem’s health and agricultural production. Bacillus subtilis, a diverse Gram-positive bacterial species found in the upper soil and plant rhizosphere, has been observed to interact with the soil fungus Setophoma terrestris, a major plant pathogen that affects economically important crops. In subtropical and tropical regions, S. terrestris has caused pink root disease in onions. Interestingly, the interactions between S. terrestris and B. subtilis ALBA01 resulted in metabolites associated with antifungal activity, such as surfactin and plipastatin. Using LC-MS and GC-MS based metabolomics, we can further look into the production of antifungal compounds whose nature remains unexplained. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Andrea Albarracin Orio at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.

Coffee is one of the world’s most valuable beverages and agricultural commodities. Recent studies have revealed the diversity of microorganisms present during the process of coffee fermentation. This, along with the soil quality, influences the coffee’s flavor. Although the microbial diversity in the coffee fermentation process has been widely studied, the geisha variety (one of the most expensive and valuable coffees in the world) has been unexplored. Our goal is to determine the chemical differences between the different microbial communities within the endosperm of the coffee, and how fermentation influences the flavor profile. This project is a collaboration with the Dalling lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Hacienda la Esmeralda in Palmira, Panama.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) causes motor impairment through α-synuclein (α-syn) overexpression. The discovery that a “Super Smeller” could detect PD through odor revolutionized diagnostic possibilities. Identifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) responsible for this distinct PD odor could enable earlier, faster diagnosis. Previous studies identified specific VOCs correlating with PD odor. VOC breath analysis from mouse models with gut microbiomes that aggregate α-syn to identify additional volatile biomarkers linked to PD. This is an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Sarkis’s group from Caltech.