# Model-guided design of next-generation bacterial therapeutics to treat cardiovascular disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2020 · $697,498

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
It is becoming increasingly evident that the composition and metabolites produced by the human gut microbiome
influence the progression of cardiovascular diseases. While we are continuing to discover important associations
between the gut microbiome and human physiology and diseases, we lack the tools and methodology to
precisely manipulate gut microbiota to benefit human health. We propose to develop computational models and
optimization frameworks to predict community dynamics and functions and design interventions to shift the gut
microbiome to desired states. We will design novel bacterial therapeutics that operate autonomously in the
mammalian gastrointestinal tract to steer the microbiome towards healthy states. These next-generation
bacterial therapeutics will sense important gut microbiome metabolites, process information, and deliver species-
specific antimicrobial proteins to reshape the dynamics and functions of this ecosystem. The performance of
these bacterial therapeutics will be characterized in vitro using synthetic human gut microbiome communities
and in gnotobiotic mouse models of cardiovascular disease. Model-guided microbiome engineering has the
potential to transform human medicine and is becoming increasingly important as scientists continue to discover
connections between the microbiome and human health and disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10044931
- **Project number:** 1R01EB030340-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Federico E Rey
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $697,498
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10044931

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10044931, Model-guided design of next-generation bacterial therapeutics to treat cardiovascular disease (1R01EB030340-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10044931. Licensed CC0.

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