Maria Andrea Azcarate-Peril

Bio

Andrea Azcarate is a microbiologist who studies the mechanisms by which prebiotics and probiotics modulate the gut microbiota providing a health benefit to the host. She has authored numerous publications in the field of functional genomics of probiotic bacteria, and beneficial modulation of the microbiome. Moreover, her expertise lays on the compositional and functional analyses of the microbiome and identification of health-relevant microbial signatures. She and her colleagues have recently shown that prebiotics can alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance by favoring growth of lactose-scavenger beneficial bacteria. Determination of compounds and methods that can beneficially modulate the gut microbiome to reverse dysbiosis will have a relevant role in preventing gastrointestinal disorders like obesity, and aging-associated dysbioses.

Area(s) of Expertise

Modulation of host-associated microbiota by prebiotics and probiotics. Physiology and functional genomics of probiotic strains. Molecular biology, genomics, and next-generation sequencing tools to determine the role of the intestinal microbiota in human health and disease.