MSI PIs Dan Knights (Computer Science and Engineering - College of Science and Engineering) and Michael Sadowsky (Soil, Water, and Climate - College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences), are co-authors on a recent study supporting the value of fecal transplantation for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infections. C. difficile infection is a growing problem worldwide. Treatment with antibiotics can disrupt “good” intestinal bacteria, a side effect that this new treatment avoids. The study was published in the journal Microbiome. The study’s authors also included other University of Minnesota researchers and colleagues at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Professor Sadowsky is the Director of the BioTechnology Institute (College of Science and Engineering and College of Biological Sciences). He uses MSI resources for deep DNA sequencing to study the metagenome of the human intestinal tracts. He is also leading a study of the metagenome of the Mississippi River.
Assistant Professor Knights is a member of the BioTechnology Institute. He uses MSI to assist research into the functional characterization of complex host-microbe interactions in host diseases and behavior.
Articles about this paper can be found on the College of Science and Engineering website and on the University’s Discover blog.