Bio
Manipulating microbial communities and their byproducts is a rich and tractable opportunity for therapeutics. Dr. Needham first became interested in bacterial-host interactions as a graduate researcher studying the evolutionary strategies employed by bacterial pathogens to subvert mammalian immune detection. This work led her to appreciate the extreme range of potential host outcomes upon subtle structural variation of bacterial small molecules. As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Needham shifted her study of bacterial byproducts into commensal gut microbial molecules that influence neurodevelopment. The laboratory gained insight on the complexities of the molecular signatures that an altered gut microbiota imparts on its host. Her current work focuses on moving beyond associations of phenotypes in the gut and brain and into concrete causal effects that can be leveraged to understand host phenotypes.
Learn more about active research in the Needham Lab
Key Publications
Boktor J, Adame MD, Rose DR, Schumann CM, Murray KD, Bauman MD, Careaga M, Mazmanian SK, Ashwood P, Needham BD. Global Metabolic Profiles in a Non-human Primate model of Maternal Immune Activation: implications for neurodevelopmental disorders. Molecular Psychiatry. (In press 2022).
Needham BD, Funabashi M, Adame MD, Wang Z, Boktor JC, Haney J, Wu WL, Ladinsky MS, Rabut C, Hwang S, Guo Y, Zhu Q, Griffiths JA, Knight R, Shapiro MG, Bjorkman PJ, Geschwind DH, Holschneider DP, Fischbach MA, Mazmanian SK. A gut bacterial metabolite modulates brain activity and anxiety-like behavior in mice. Nature. (2022).
Needham BD, Adame MD, Serena G, Rose DR, Preston GM, Conrad MC, Campbell AS, Donabedian DH, Fasano A, Ashwood P, Mazmanian SK. Plasma and Fecal Metabolites in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Bio. Psychiatry. (2020).
Campbell AS*, Needham BD*, Meyer CR*, Tan J, Conrad M, Preston GM, Donabadian DH, Bolognani F, Rao S, Heussler H, Griffith R, Guastella A, Mazmanian SK. Open-label clinical trial targeting gut-derived metabolites shows safety and improved behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nat. Medicine. (2022). *co-first authors.
Titles & Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology
- Investigator, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute
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Education
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Research