2025 USA winner

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a brain disorder best known for causing tremors and movement difficulties, but many people experience digestive problems years before these motor symptoms appear. Recent studies suggest that changes in the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria living in our intestines—may play a role in the development of PD. Some gut bacteria promote inflammation, while others help reduce it. People with PD tend to have more of the pro-inflammatory bacteria and fewer of the protective ones. However, it’s still unclear whether these microbial changes contribute to brain disease or result from it.

This project explores the connection between the brain and the gut in PD. In Aim 1, we will test whether inflammation in the brain can cause harmful changes in the gut microbiome. Using a well-established model, we will trigger brain inflammation in mice and track how their gut bacteria, immune responses, and intestinal health change over time. In Aim 2, we will examine how specific gut bacteria influence the brain’s response to a second hit of inflammation. Mice will be given either a pro-inflammatory bacteria or an anti-inflammatory bacteria known to up altered in PD before being exposed to a toxin that mimics aspects of PD. We will then assess brain inflammation, brain cell loss, and movement. By clarifying whether gut microbes are a cause or consequence of inflammation in PD, this research may lead to new ways to predict, prevent, or slow the progression of the disease

3 Questions to Dr. Leah Beauchamp

What inspired you to pursue this specific research project?

This research was inspired by mounting evidence that the gut microbiome plays an active, often underappreciated role in disease development and progression—particularly through its interactions with the immune and nervous systems. Emerging findings from microbiome research, including work supported by the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, point to complex, bidirectional relationships between the gut and other organ systems that may influence inflammation, disease trajectory, and clinical outcomes.

In this context, the project aims to move beyond descriptive associations to clarify underlying biological mechanisms. By examining how specific microbial patterns and host responses interact, this research seeks to determine whether microbiome changes drive disease processes, contribute to progression, or serve as targets for earlier intervention. Addressing these questions is essential to closing critical gaps in current understanding and advancing microbiome science toward meaningful clinical application.

How will the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation Grant support contribute to the success and advancement of your research?

Support from the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation will be pivotal in advancing this research at a critical stage, enabling focused investigation of microbiome-host interactions that would otherwise be impossible without dedicated funding. The Foundation’s investment in the 2025 cohort reflects a commitment to high-impact, mechanism-driven research that pushes the field beyond correlation toward actionable insight.

This grant will provide the resources to expand and deepen the project’s experimental scope, including more detailed analysis of microbiome composition, functional pathways, and host inflammatory responses. Importantly, the Foundation’s support also provides scientific validation, positioning this work within a broader community of leading microbiome researchers tackling similarly complex questions.

By accelerating the pace and scale of this research, the grant will help ensure that findings contribute meaningfully to the evolving understanding of the gut microbiome’s role in human health and disease and lay the groundwork for future diagnostic or therapeutic innovation.