Laura M Cox

The Cox lab is investigating the role of the gut microbiota in neurologic diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis. The gut microbiota is composed of trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which may affect risk and progression of various neurologic diseases. Our overall goal is to identify microbial populations, functions, and metabolites associated with neurologic disease in patient populations, then to mechanistically investigate the contributions of these factors to disease progression in experimental models. Throughout our studies, we rigorously investigate changes in both males and females, and have identified sex-specific interactions between the microbiota in neurologic diseases. In addition to changes in disease progression, we are investigating changes in peripheral and central immune populations, which may mediate the effect of the microbiome on neurologic diseases. Our lab utilizes techniques from several different disciplines, including investigating microbiome changes in patient populations, molecular techniques including 16S rRNA microbiome sequence, anaerobic and aerobic bacterial culture, histopathology and immunohistochemistry, immunologic techniques including flow cytometry and RNA sequencing of immunologic populations.