The researchers anticipate that their findings will inform personalized colorectal polyp surveillance, guide therapeutic prevention strategies, and ultimately reduce the burden of colorectal cancer nationwide.

Byndloss, who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2018, studies the links between the gut microbiota (the microorganisms that reside in the intestines), host metabolism and disease.

Researchers used whole-metagenome sequencing to assess the composition, diversity and functional enrichment of the preterm infant gut microbiome — the microorganisms that aid digestion, immune function and metabolism.

The Vanderbilt Vision Research Center was founded in 1989 and secured the National Eye Institute core grant that still supports it; the grant will provide approximately $3.3 million over the current five-year funding period.