Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology

Staff Profile

Professor Christopher Stewart

Professor of Human Microbiome Research

Background

Background

I am currently funded on a Wellcome Trust / Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship & a 2021 Lister Institute Prize Fellowship, working within the Faculty of Medical Sciences. I previously worked at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas) and Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK).


My research interests are focused on the microbiome and host responses in human health and disease. My research typically focuses on early life (neonatal through to childhood) and is split into two major areas, 1) Multi-omic investigation of clinical samples and 2) Novel models to elucidate microbial-host crosstalk and interrogate the mechanisms of gastrointestinal disease. 


More information regarding my groups research is available on the “Research” tab. My publications are listed in the “Publications” tab and also on my Google Scholar profile (link below).


My group is currently recruiting PhD students, technicians, and Post-Doctoral Research Associates, please get in touch if you are interested.


Google Scholar: Click here.

Twitter: Click here.

Newcastle Neonatal Nutrition and NEC Research (N4): Click here.

 

 

Education and Training

2021 Lister Institute Prize Fellow - Newcastle University, UK

Wellcome Trust / Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellow - Newcastle University, UK

Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) Fellow - Newcastle University, UK

Marie Curie Research Fellow - Newcastle University, UK

Faculty Fellow - Newcastle University, UK

Post-Doctoral Associate - Baylor College of Medicine, USA

Research Fellow - University of Northumbria, UK

Ph.D. in Molecular Microbial Ecology - University of Northumbria, UK

BSc. Biotechnology: 1st Class Honors - University of Northumbria, UK


Awards and Honors

2024    Neonatal Society Rising Star Award

2023    Applied Microbiology International WH Pierce Prize

2023    Elected to the Royal Society UK Young Academy

2022    Microbiology Society Fleming Prize

2021    Lister Research Institute Prize

2020    Most Valuable Presentation (MVP) of the 2019 International Milk Genomics Consortium Symposium

2017    Kelly K. Woodard Award for outstanding achievements in scientific scholarship, research, and leadership

2016    Best oral presentation at Baylor College of Medicine departmental retreat

2015    Microbiome Award: worldwide competition for the best early career researchers in microbiome

Research

My research interests are focused on the ecology of microbial communities and host responses in human health and disease. My research typically focuses on early life (neonatal through to childhood) and is split into two major areas:

1) Multi-omic investigation of clinical samples: Applying high-throughput next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry-based approaches to generate comprehensive data from clinical samples, such as stool, nasopharyngeal aspirate, saliva, oral swabs, tissue resections, and blood. Such datasets typically include information relating to the presence of microbes and their genetic capacity, as well as microbial and host protein and metabolite levels. Bioinformatics and statistical analysis can then be applied to determine differences between diseased and control groups, plus what specific microbes/genes/proteins/metabolites are associated with each group. Although disease mechanism requires further work, this area of discovery research typically yields several testable hypotheses.

2) Novel models to elucidate microbial-host crosstalk and interrogate the mechanisms of gastrointestinal disease: The potential to interrogate microbial-host cross-talk promises to lead to major advances in our understanding of how microbes promote health or cause disease. Due to recent scientific advances, we now have the ability to take patient tissue that would otherwise be discarded and derive intestinal ‘enteroids’ from the tissue. These human intestinal enteroids are able to grow into ‘mini guts’ in the laboratory and can differentiate into all the major cell types of the intestine. They also secrete mucin and respond to viral or bacterial infection. Because the tissue is derived from patients with disease, and retains the genetic, epigenetic, and exposure history, human intestinal enteroids have several major advances over animal models. With collaborators at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, USA), we have pioneered a powerful co-culture system that mimics the conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and simultaneously allows bacteria and patient-derived enteroids to interact directly. We can then test how the addition of specific bacteria influences the health or disease status of the cells, such as by measuring epithelial integrity, bacterial translocation, and markers of disease (e.g., inflammatory cytokines). This work allows microbial-host cross-talk to be investigated and can lead to mechanistic understanding of disease processes, which can be directly translated into the clinical care of patients.

Such knowledge from basic science has great potential for the development of new treatments and the clinical management of patients.

Teaching

Undergraduate and Masters

 

I currently lecture on the following modules:

Physiology of the GI Tract (BSc)

Research in Physiological Sciences (BSc)

Microbial Genomics (MSc)

 

I regularly supervise BSc, MSci., MSc, and MRes research projects.  My lab has also hosted undergraduate summer studentships.

 

 

Ph.D. and Postdoctoral project supervision

 

I have supervised numerous PhD students to completion. I have also provided mentorship to several Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral researchers.

 

Publications