Leah D’Aloisio is a UBCO MSc Student working in Dr. Deanna Gibson’s lab. Leah was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, and completed a BSc. Honours Biology degree at McMaster University. During this time, Leah became extremely interested in gut microbiome research, particularly how our lifestyle could affect the gut and our overall health.

During her undergraduate, she came across Dr. Deanna Gibson’s research at UBCO and was eager to join the lab. In general, Dr. Gibson’s lab looks at how the bacteria in our gut influence our health, with a focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Leah’s thesis is investigating how immigration to Canada and the adoption of Westernized practices affects the gut microbiome, specifically in Indians. This study stemmed from many studies that show when Indians are living in a Westernized country, their risk for IBD significantly increases within just one generation. Also, there is a common trend of Indian children getting diagnosed with IBD at a younger age, and this is alarming as not only is this disease presenting in a younger demographic, but it is also presenting differently in Indian populations.

Naturally, Dr. Gibson wanted to investigate this issue, as the gut microbiome is heavily involved with IBD. However, there was little data on the gut microbiome in Indians, as most microbiome studies were done in Westernized, European populations. So, Dr. Gibson aimed to fill this void by first collecting stool samples from individuals living in India. When Leah joined Dr. Gibson’s lab, they started to collect stool samples from Indian immigrants, Canadian-born Indians (i.e., Indo-Canadians), Euro-Canadians, and Westernized immigrants. From these stool samples, they extracted microbial DNA that will allow them to compare the different bacteria, fungi, and parasites that are present in the gut microbiomes of these different cohorts. So far, Leah has compared the samples from Euro-Canadians versus those living in India, and she has detected drastic differences in bacterial communities between these two groups. Leah’s next steps will be to analyse the microbiome data from the additional cohorts to obtain a better understanding of what happens to the gut microbiome in Indians once they migrate to Canada. Leah believes that these differences are incredibly important to highlight, as many approaches currently used to optimize gut health, such as diet recommendations, are based on European microbiome data. Yet, these drastic differences observed in Indians suggest these recommendations may not apply to immigrant groups.

When Leah is not working in Dr. Gibson’s lab, she takes any opportunity to pursue artistic endeavors. She loves art and throughout her master’s she has tried to include illustrations in any part of her work. If anyone ever requires any help with illustration, feel free to reach out to Leah as she says that she is always happy (L. D’Aloisio, personal communication, March 29, 2023)!

Works Cited

D’Aloisio, L. (2023, March 29). Personal communication [Personal interview]. 

D’Aloisio, L. (n.d.). [Picture of Leah D’Aloisio]. The University of British Columbia. Retrieved August 29, 2023, from https://biology.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/leah-daloisio/