The Gut Microbial Contribution to Systemic Inflammation and Moderating Role of Psychosocial Stress

Drs. Chen and Miller co-direct the Foundations of Health Research Center and will contribute jointly to this project, including: (a) advise on the collection, processing, and shipment of blood samples; (b) oversee the conduction of peripheral blood and cord blood immunology assays at all 5 time points. These assays will be conducted in their research center; (c) supervise quality control checks on these data; (d) provide guidance about interpretations related to stress-immunology data; and (e) participate in statistical analyses and manuscript preparation. To index low-grade inflammation, we will measure serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and the cytokines interleukins-6, 8, 10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. All of these molecules are widely utilized biomarkers of inflammation. These assays will all be conducted at Northwestern University under the direction of Drs. Chen and Miller.