Submitted by: Deborah Money
Bacteria outnumber human cells in your body, and a healthy community of bacteria in the vagina is essential for women’s health. Women with disrupted vaginal microbiota have higher risks of sexually transmitted infections, infertility, early pregnancy loss, and preterm birth. Our team uses cutting-edge metagenomic technology to characterize women’s vaginal microbiota based on the variants of a gene called chaperonin 60. Armed with extensive metagenomic and clinical data, we hope to characterize microbiological profiles linked to health, disease, and various behaviours. This paves the way for exciting (and perhaps personalized) strategies for diagnosis and treatment.