By Sierrah Laurent, Research Team Member
Many of us these days are familiar with the microbiome, the billions of bacteria that reside on and within us and influence the function of our immune systems. However, this biological system that has evolved over millennia to keep us healthy is clashing with rapid recent changes to our lifestyles – a mismatch that seems to be contributing to various diseases. For Dr. Carolina Tropini, our immune system needs to spark inflammation to heal injuries and fight infection but when inflammation persists for long periods, it affects many processes across the body. Our modern diets have a major role to play in this persistence, in part by not providing our beneficial gut bacteria with the right raw materials.
Dr. Carolina Tropini. Photo credit: Canadian Immigrant.
Dr. Carolina Tropini is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in the School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Microbiology and Immunology. While teaching students various concepts in the field of Microbiology and Immunology, Troponi is also the prime investigator of her cross-disciplinary lab, the Tropini Lab, Her lab incorporates techniques from microbiology, bioengineering, biophysics and more to create highly parallel assays and study how bacteria and communities function to translate the knowledge that is gained to improve human health. Her team is actively examining how radical changes in the way we live have reduced the diversity of gut microbes, raising the risk of an overactive immune system. Nonetheless, they’re also interested in diving deeper into the dynamics of microbial invasion dynamics. As some bacteria can colonize a seemingly saturated gut microbial community and persist without causing host inflammation, they are seeking to understand the mechanisms of their colonization.
Troponi’s effort along with her team has managed to gain recognition and earn awards such as the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award in 2019 and Johnson & Johnson’s WiSTEM2D Scholars Award in 2020. The Johnson & Johnson’s WiSTEM2D Scholars Award programs aim to help advance the careers of women conducting science, technology, engineering, math, manufacturing and design research at the university level. To Dr. Carolina Tropini, receiving a WiSTEM2D Scholars Award gives her a voice to talk about how science can be more accessible to women and other underrepresented minorities.