Publications

A gut microbial signature for combination immune checkpoint blockade across cancer types.
Gunjur A, Shao Y, Rozday T, Klein O, Mu A, Haak BW, Markman B, Kee D, Carlino MS, Underhill C, Frentzas S, Michael M, Gao B, Palmer J, Cebon J, Behren A, Adams DJ, Lawley TD.
Nat Med. 2024 Mar;30(3):797-809. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02823-z. Epub 2024 Mar 1.PMID: 38429524 Free PMC article.

The first demonstration of a generalisable gut microbial signature for combination immune checkpoint blockade across a variety of cancer types from patients around the globe.

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Border Control: The Role of the Microbiome in Regulating Epithelial Barrier Function.
Schreiber F, Balas I, Robinson MJ, Bakdash G.
Cells. 2024 Mar 8 ;13(6):477. doi: 10.3390/cells13060477.

This paper outlines how the integrity and function of the gut barrier is modulated by the microbiome in health and disease.

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The heightened importance of the microbiome in cancer immunotherapy.
Villemin C, Six A, Neville BA, Lawley TD, Robinson MJ, Bakdash G.
Trends Immunol. 2023 Jan;44(1):44-59. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2022.11.002. Epub 2022 Dec 1.

A review of how the gut microbiome impacts the anti-tumour efficacy of immunotherapies, and the key  mechanisms involved.

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Massive expansion of human gut bacteriophage diversity.
Luis F. Camarillo-Guerrero, Alexandre Almeida, Guillermo Rangel-Pineros, Robert D. Finn, Trevor D. Lawley. 
Cell 2021: Volume 184, Issue 4, P1098-1109.E9

Massive expansion of human gut bacteriophage diversity to create a new atlas for impact of phage on gut biology.

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Novel gut pathobionts confound results in a widely used mouse model of human inflammatory disease.
Samuel C. Forster, Simon Clare, Benjamin S. Beresford-Jones, Katherine Harcourt, George Notley, Mark Stares, Nitin Kumar, Amelia T. Soderholm, Anne Adoum, Hannah Wong, Bélen Morón, Cordelia Brandt, Gordon Dougan, David J. Adams, Kevin J. Maloy, Virginia A. Pedicord, Trevor D. Lawley. 
bioRxiv 10.1101/2021.02.09.430393

A major study of IBD disease mechanism in several hundred mice identified great variation in disease phenotype in the DSS model. The work demonstrated that resistance or sensitivity to the disease phenotype could be transferred by microbiota through faecal transplant in germ-free mice. Using mass culturing to isolate all the gut bacteria and machine learning to link bacteria to phenotype, the study identified a limited set of pathobionts that are sufficient to drive the disease phenotype.

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Stunted microbiota and opportunistic pathogen colonisation associated with caesarean-section birth.
Shao Y, Forster SC, Tsaliki E, Vervier K, Strang A, Simpson. N, Kumar N, Stares MD, Rodger A, Brocklehurst P, Field N, Lawley TD.
Nature 2019, 574: 117–121

First example of precision metagenomics platform in large scale human genetics population studies.

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A new genomic blueprint of the human gut microbiota.
Almeida, A., Mitchell, A., Boland, M., Forster, S., Gloor, G., Tarkowska, A., Lawley, T. and Finn, R.
Nature 2019, 568(7753), pp.499-504

This publication identified the portion of the microbiome yet to be cultured and allowed Microbiotica to develop novel culturing for bugs. This publication is mentioned in Nature Milestones of human microbiota research.

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A human gut bacterial genome and culture collection for improved metagenomic analyses.
Forster SC, Kumar N, Anonye BO, Almeida A, Viciani E, Stares MD, Dunn M, Mkandawire TT, Zhu A, Shao Y et al.
Nature Biotechnology 2019, 574(7776):117-121

Demonstrates culturing abilities and validates the reference genome base mapping for human microbiome, therefore, increasing precision and accuracy and driving down computational costs. This publication was essential for the Nature Milestones of human microbiota research.

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Culturing of ‘unculturable’ human microbiota reveals novel taxa and extensive sporulation.
Browne HP, Forster SC, Anonye BO, Kumar N, Neville BA, Stares MD, Goulding D, Lawley TD.
Nature 2016, 533(7604):543-546

Turned over the dogma in field showing it is possible to culture and purify gut bacteria at large scale.

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HPMCD: The database of human microbial communities from metagenomic datasets and microbial reference genomes.
Forster SC, Browne HP, Kumar N, Hunt M, Denise H, Mitchell A, Finn RD, Lawley TD.
Nucleic Acids Research 2015, 44(D1):D604-D609

Academic version of the platform from which early version of Microbiotica’s platform was developed.

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Targeted Restoration of the Intestinal Microbiota with a Simple, Defined Bacteriotherapy Resolves Relapsing Clostridium difficile Disease in Mice.
Lawley TD, Clare S, Walker AW, Stares MD, Connor TR, Raisen C, Goulding D, Rad R, Schreiber F, Brandt C et al.
PLoS Pathogens 2012, 8(10)

First proof of concept for LBT using rational approach based on genomics, microbiology and animal models.