University System of Maryland

Bing Ma

Jacques Ravel

Michael France

Lindsay Rutt

Rose Viscardi

A correlative finding between increased Clostridiales and/or Bifidobacteriales bacterial abundance in the gut and intestinal barrier maturation of preterm neonates at-risk for development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is disclosed. These findings form the basis for the methods of identifying preterm infants at risk for developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the methods of treating such infants, as well as the methods of characterizing intestinal permeability in preterm infants disclosed herein.

Composition and methods for predicting necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants

Methods of formulating live biotherapeutics are disclosed in which a deficiency or excess of a specific bacterial strain in a person's microbiome is identified by comparing a gene-specific characterization of the person's microbiome against a comprehensive, non-redundant reference gene catalog, and the biotherapeutic is formulated by selecting bacteria to address the deficiency or excess. Embodiments include the formulation of live biotherapeutics for improving the health of a person's vaginal microbiome, i.e. using a vaginal reference gene catalog, and may be suitable for ameliorating, treating, or preventing a malignancy such as a cancer of the female genitourinary system.

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Baltimore, MD, United States of America

Bing Ma