Description: This seminar will highlight the effects of different diets on gut microbiome function and the mechanisms by which these diet-microbial interactions contribute to health maintenance or disease development across species.Speakers: Naisi Zhao (Tufts) & Jennifer Lee (HNRCA)My research uses OMICs data to identify and validate data-driven biomarkers that can be modulated for chronic disease intervention and used for chronic disease risk stratification. My secondary research objective is to develop novel Knowledge Translation strategies for translating OMICs knowledge and biomarkers into public health programs and disease prevention interventions at the population level.Dr. Lee is trained as a basic scientist and is a Scientist II at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. She completed her PhD at UC Davis in Nutritional Biology followed by post-doctoral research fellowships at the University of Toronto and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. One of the primary research areas of focus in her research laboratory is to understand how diet and nutrition can be leveraged to improve gut microbiome function, gut health, and host metabolism in cell-based and rodent models of dietary obesity and aging.Moderator: Mengxi DuMengxi is a PhD candidate enrolled in the Nutritional Epidemiology and Data Science program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Mengxi is passionate about investigating nutrition as a modifiable factor for promoting healthy eating and the wellbeing of cancer survivors and the general population. She actively participated in research that evaluated nutritional needs and barriers experienced by adult cancer survivors, the feasibility of nutrition intervention in pediatric cancer patients, and dietary intake or diet quality in association with cancer survival outcomes. Her current research focused on studying the impact of food intake, nutrition policies, and nutrition interventions on cancer and cardiometabolic diseases in the US. Prior to her doctoral training, Mengxi graduated from Tufts with a Master of Nutrition Science in Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition and a Master of Public Health specializing in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. After graduation, she received clinically focused dietetic training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and became a Registered Dietitian in 2018.