Veronica is interested in exploring possible links between microbiome disturbances and manifestations of disease. She uses a beneficial bacteria called Bacillus subtilis to study the effect of probiotics on the lifespan of C. elegans. She has discovered that under biofilm growth conditions, this probiotic, can increase the C. elegans lifespan while also attenuating neurodegenerative processes. Understanding the complex crosstalk between the gut, its microbiome, and the brain can help us understand how the bacteria living in our intestine can modulate the aging process and neurodegeneration.
Specific bacteria may impact the aging process either by affecting immunological, endocrinological functions and/or hormonal signals of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Investigations into the mechanisms that orchestrate interactions between the gut microbiome and these systems may yield microbiome-based therapies. These paradigms include treatments with probiotics and/or symbiotics to colonize the gut. Veronica’s long-term goals are to describe the intracellular pathways that connect probiotics with aging and age-related diseases and to discover a probiotic bacterium that extends lifespan, produces a healthy aging process, and improves neurodegenerative diseases in the aging brain.