Skip to content
CIFAR header logo
fr
menu_mobile_logo_alt
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Awards
    • Partnerships
    • President’s Message
    • Publications & Reports
    • Careers
    • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
  • News
  • People
    • Fellows & Advisors
    • CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
    • Canada CIFAR AI Chairs
    • AI Strategy Leadership
    • Solution Network Members
    • Staff Directory
    • Leadership
  • Programs
    • Research Programs
    • Knowledge Mobilization
    • Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
    • Next Generation Initiatives
    • Global Call for Ideas
    • Action on Covid-19
  • Events
    • Public Events
    • Invitation-only Meetings
  • Support Us
  • fr

Follow Us

  • Home
  • research-programs
  • Humans & the Microbiome

Humans & the Microbiome

smaller line

How do microbes that live in and on us affect our health, development and even behaviour?

Microorganisms cover our skin and fill our guts. These bacteria, viruses and fungi – collectively called the human microbiome – were until recently only considered interesting if they led to disease.

But a growing body of research shows that a properly functioning microbiome has tremendous impact on human health. For instance, the ability to maintain a healthy weight is probably influenced significantly by the microbiota in your gut. A mother’s microbiome could affect the healthy development of her fetus’s brain. And researchers are learning about the effects of colonization on human groups by examining the microbes in dental tartar of human remains in West Africa.

This program brings anthropologists, biologists and other scholars together to provide biocultural context to host-microbiome interactions. They’re asking new questions about what aspects of individual and societal behaviour are critical to understanding the role of the microbiome in human health and development.

By gaining a complete picture of the relationship between the microbiome and human culture and biology, CIFAR’s Humans & the Microbiome team will open up new understanding of the roots of disease, issues of early development, our susceptibility to future pandemics, and even human behaviour.

Path to Societal Impact

We invite experts in industry, civil society, healthcare and government to join fellows in our Humans & the Microbiome program for in-depth, cross-sectoral conversations that drive change and innovation.

Leaders from public health schools and CIFAR fellows in the Humans & the Microbiome program are working together to develop new public health curricula.

Areas of focus:

  • Integrating emerging evidence from microbiome research into health systems
  • Developing microbiome-based public health curriculum materials that enhance public health messages

 

Founded

2014

Renewal Dates

2020

Partners

Brain Canada Foundation through the Canada Brain Research Fund, Genome British Columbia, Genome Canada

Supporters

Canada Life

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Microbiology
Developmental, evolutionary and stem cell biology
Bacteriology
Immunology
Anthropology
Biochemistry
Public Health
History
Neuroscience
Philosophy

CIFAR Contact

Kate Geddie

Fellows & Advisors

Program Directors

About

B. Brett Finlay

Program Co-Director

Humans & the Microbiome
University of British Columbia
Canada
About

Melissa Melby

Program Co-Director

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Delaware
United States

Fellows

About

Katherine R. Amato

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Humans & the Microbiome
Northwestern University
United States
About

Meghan Azad

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Manitoba & Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba
Canada
About

Thomas Bosch

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Kiel
Germany
About

Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Rutgers University
United States
About

Eran Elinav

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Weizmann Institute of Science
Israel
About

Naama Geva-Zatorsky

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020

Humans & the Microbiome
Technion
Israel
About

Tamara Giles-Vernick

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Institut Pasteur
France
About

Philippe Gros

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
McGill University
Canada
About

Karen Guillemin

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Oregon
United States
About

Frédéric Keck

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Musée du quai Branly
France
About

Sven Pettersson

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
About

Hendrik N. Poinar

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
McMaster University
Canada
About

Tobias Rees

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Berggruen Institute
United States
About

Philippe J. Sansonetti

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Institut Pasteur Collège de France
France
About

Carolina Tropini

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
University of British Columbia
Canada
About

Liping Zhao

Fellow

Humans & the Microbiome
Rutgers University
United States

Advisors

About

Martin Blaser

Advisor

Humans & the Microbiome
Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine
United States
About

Kate Brown

Advisor

Humans & the Microbiome
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
United States
About

Stanislav Dusko Ehrlich

Advisor

Humans & the Microbiome
University College London
United Kingdom
About

Margaret J. McFall-Ngai

Advisory Committee Chair

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Hawaii at Manoa
United States
About

Mark Nichter

Advisor

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Arizona
United States
About

Janet Rossant

Advisor

Humans & the Microbiome
Hospital for Sick Children
University of Toronto
Canada

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars

About

Katherine R. Amato

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Humans & the Microbiome
Northwestern University
United States
About

Hiutung Chu

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
University of California San Diego
United States
About

Naama Geva-Zatorsky

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020

Humans & the Microbiome
Technion
Israel
About

Louis-Patrick Haraoui

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023

Humans & the Microbiome
Université de Sherbrooke
Canada
About

Elizabeth Johnson

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023

Humans & the Microbiome
Cornell University
United States
About

Jean-Philippe Julien

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
Hospital for Sick Children
Canada
About

Tal Korem

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
Columbia University
United States
About

Alexander Kwarteng

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Humans & the Microbiome
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Ghana
About

Corinne Maurice

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2016-2018

Humans & the Microbiome
McGill University
Canada
About

Jessica L. Metcalf

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2018-2020

Humans & the Microbiome
Colorado State University
United States
About

Carolina Tropini

Fellow
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
University of British Columbia
Canada
About

Eduardo A. Undurraga

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars 2021-2023

Humans & the Microbiome
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Chile
About

Jennifer Zenker

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
Monash University
Australia
About

Wei Zhang

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2019-2021

Humans & the Microbiome
University of Guelph
Canada

Related News

PUBLIC-POLICY-RBG

Brief

COVID and Our Children

How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the physical and mental health of children

November 10, 2021
HMBbanner

Advances

COVID-19 may forever alter our microbiomes

The virus (and our reactions to it) affects our health through the microbiome.

January 26, 2021
Health illustration

Event Brief

Microbiome in Public Health: Laying a Foundation for a New Curriculum

Research on the human microbiome is disrupting our understanding of healthy development and aging.

May 04, 2020
the four of CIFAR's programs

Announcement

CIFAR completes review of four research programs

Three CIFAR research programs will be renewed and one program will be closed in 2020/21

March 26, 2020
Illustration of petri dishes

News

Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes may be communicable

A new research paper proposes that “non-communicable” diseases may be transmitted through the microbiome

March 26, 2020
Health illustration

Research Brief

Understanding How the Microbiome Impacts Public Health via a Multidisciplinary Approach

An understanding of the human microbiome has a major role in an integrated approach to public health.

March 16, 2020
Humans & the Microbiome illustration

Advances

When antibiotics fail

An expert panel on antimicrobial resistance chaired by B. Brett Finlay releases its report

November 14, 2019
GS 2021-3 GS banner 3

Announcement

Meet the 2019-2021 cohort of CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars

Fourteen inspiring early-career researchers named across five CIFAR research programs

September 04, 2019
Health illustration

Health & Well-being

The Future of the Microbiome in Public Health

Rapid advances in research on the human microbiome are leading to new insights on the role of our body’s microorganism...

July 29, 2019
Fish Guts

Reach Magazine

Art of Science: Beauty in the gut of a fish

For about three days after zebrafish emerge from their eggs, they are completely transparent

May 30, 2019
  • Follow Us

Support Us

CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.

Donate Now
CIFAR header logo

Subscribe

Stay up to date on news & ideas from CIFAR.

MaRS Centre, West Tower
661 University Ave., Suite 505
Toronto, ON M5G 1M1 Canada

Contact Us
Media
Careers
Accessibility Policies
Supporters
Financial Reports
Subscribe

  • © Copyright 2022 CIFAR. All Rights Reserved.
  • Charitable Registration Number: 11921 9251 RR0001
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.
Accept Learn more