The Immunology Podcast

Ep. 121: “From Microbes to Metabolism” Featuring Dr. Jayne Danska

Dec 16, 2025
Guest
Jayne Danska
Dr. Jayne Danska is a Senior Scientist focused on the microbiome and type 1 diabetes. She discusses the rising incidence of autoimmune diseases and the gut microbiome's vital role. Jayne elaborates on designing human studies with pregnant mothers and highlights findings from child-derived mouse models. She emphasizes geography and diversity in research, exploring the challenges of developing microbial therapeutics. Finally, she shares her passion for artisanal cheesemaking and its connection to microbiology.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Microbiome Bridges Environment And Autoimmunity

  • The gut microbiome is a critical interface linking environmental changes to rising autoimmune disease incidence like type 1 diabetes.
  • Microbiome shifts likely explain rapid epidemiologic changes that human genetics alone cannot account for.
ADVICE

Design Longitudinal Early-Life Studies

  • Use longitudinal, well-powered cohort studies with repeat sampling from early life to study microbiome links to disease.
  • Include rich clinical metadata and paired samples (stool, blood, breast milk) to enable mechanistic inference.
INSIGHT

Human-Strain Consortia Test Causality In Mice

  • Defined consortia of cultured human gut strains can test causality by colonizing germ-free mice.
  • Using strains from children who did or didn't progress to autoimmunity reveals protective versus permissive microbial communities.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app