Revolutionizing Health with Microbiome Innovation at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

CAMRI postdoctoral fellow Kayla Carter, PhD, MPH, has been named a recipient of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s MPower Early Scholar Award, supporting her research on the cervicovaginal microenvironment and Chlamydia trachomatis clearance.

A one-week treatment was enough to add protective bacteria to the vagina that stayed for months after therapy ended.

A new study, co-authored by CAMRI investigators and published in Communications Biology , finds major inconsistencies among popular gut microbiome testing services. By comparing results from seven companies using a standardized reference sample, the researchers reveal that methodological differences can produce variability as great as that observed between individuals, highlighting the need for standards to…

In a new PLOS Biology study, CAMRI researchers helped develop an ecological model showing that access to specific nutrients—rather than bacteria alone—drives whether the vaginal microbiome remains healthy or shifts into dysbiosis. By revealing why harmful microbial states can become stable and difficult to reverse, this work opens new paths toward durable, non-antibiotic strategies to…

In a new study led by CAMRI investigator Dr. Johanna Holm, researchers reveal that vaginal bacteria with similar taxonomic profiles can have profoundly different functional and immunological effects. By defining 25 distinct functional community types, this work lays the foundation for precision diagnostics and targeted interventions in women’s reproductive health.

In collaboration with Dr. Wonder Drake at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the project integrates metabolomics, immunology, and longitudinal patient cohorts to identify blood-based biomarkers that predict disease progression and uncover metabolic mechanisms driving lung fibrosis. This work aims to deliver clinically actionable tools and therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes for patients with…