# Archaea in African Americans with polyps

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2023 · $79,950

## Abstract

It is well-known that African Americans (AAs) face a higher risk and burden of colorectal
cancer (CRC), but which genetic pathways or environmental/social determinants add to the risk
of colorectal cancer are not well-known. Our overall working hypothesis is that the archaea in
the human gut lumen are different in AAs compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs) and this
difference (either in the numbers of archaea, types and/or function) contributes to the racial
disparities observed in CRC. With this hypothesis, the study will use an existing sample set of
AAs and NHWs with and without polyps. The first aim will determine M.Smithii and other
archaea in AAs with and without polyps vs. NHWs with and without polyps using qPCR,
amplicon and metagenomic sequencing. The second aim will examine genomic differences of
M.smithii isolates from fecal samples of AAs with and without polyps vs NHWs with and without
polyps. This will be the first study to examine archaea in the gut microbiome of AAs; and look at
archaea diversity and functional potential in AAs with and without polyps and appropriate NHW
controls, to understand CRC disparities in AAs. If differences are found similar to our preliminary
data, manipulation of the archaea in AAs at risk for CRC can be considered, after further studies
in larger cohorts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10575726
- **Project number:** 1R03CA277166-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** ECE A. MUTLU
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $79,950
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-12-12 → 2024-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10575726

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10575726, Archaea in African Americans with polyps (1R03CA277166-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10575726. Licensed CC0.

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