Student Profiles

Shannon’s research: Shannon’s passion for research began as an undergraduate at York College of Pennsylvania, where she developed an independent research project under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Gray investigating the influence of fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs) on short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production by gut microbes. After graduation, she spent two years as an IRTA Postbaccalaureate Fellow in Michael Otto’s lab within NIAID. Her work focused on identifying the antimicrobial mechanism of SCFAs against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the context of the gut microbiome. Shannon’s doctoral research will aim to shed light on the importance of bacterial metabolites in barrier immunity in the oral and gut microbiomes.