Wenyan Mei received her BS in Biology from Sichuan University and her PhD in developmental biology from Shangai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her postdoctoral research in developmental genetics was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
The long-term goal of Mei’s lab is to understand how reciprocal interactions between the host and gut microbiota impact host health. Specifically, they are interested to address three questions:
- How is a mutualistic relationship between the host and gut microbiota established in the neonatal stage?
- How do disrupted host-gut microbiota interactions contribute to disease pathogenesis such as colitis and colorectal cancer?
- How can prebiotics and/or probiotics-based treatment be used to modulate the intestinal microbiota to improve host health?
To achieve this goal, Mei uses both mouse and zebrafish as research model systems.