As a fourth-year PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in the Curriculum in Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, I am currently investigating the effect of wood smoke on respiratory health and host-microbiome interactions under the mentorship of Dr. Meghan Rebuli. I was honored to receive a SOT Supplemental Training for Education Program (STEP) Award, a recognition that has significantly advanced my research progress.
During my PhD at UNC-CH, I have gained significant experience in microbiome and metabolomics analyses and, recently, multi-omics. This experience has proven—and I’m sure it will continue to prove—valuable for my professional development and research. My current research project focuses on evaluating the role of the respiratory microbiome on human health in the context of environmental exposures. Multi-’omics integration is a valuable approach to closely examine host-microbiome interactions. However, this type of analysis is complex and requires advanced background knowledge. Thanks to the STEP Award, I had the opportunity to attend the Multi-omics Boot Camp organized by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health as part of the school’s Skills for Health and Research Professionals (SHARP) training program. There, I learned the fundamentals and applications of multi-omics analysis from experts in the field, equipping me with the skills needed for my current and future research projects. I’m excited to apply this new knowledge to advance my work.
At the time of deciding which educational activity to pursue, I chose to focus on my immediate project needs. By attending the Multi-omics Boot Camp, my goal was to enhance my understanding of integrative ’omics analysis and its application in complex biological systems while also acquiring hands-on computational experience. This boot camp allowed me to achieve both goals, and now, I aim to apply these techniques and tools to integrate microbiome and metabolomics data effectively.
The Multi-omics Boot Camp was an intensive, three-day remote event with numerous lectures and hands-on sessions. Experts delivered comprehensive lectures on topics such as data reduction, regression analysis, interaction analysis, mediation analysis, and integrative analysis. These sessions provided a solid theoretical foundation and introduced cutting-edge research and applications in various fields. The hands-on sessions were particularly beneficial. We worked with real datasets, learning to preprocess, analyze, and integrate data from different ’omics platforms. The practical experience with software tools and pipelines was invaluable, as it directly translates to my research.
The knowledge and skills gained from this boot camp have several anticipated outcomes for my current and future research endeavors. The hands-on experience with multi-omics data analysis provided by the boot camp will enable me to integrate my microbiome and metabolomics data effectively to investigate the potential role of the respiratory microbiome in the respiratory immune response. This integrative approach will provide a more comprehensive understanding of cellular responses and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the host response to environmental exposures.
Moving forward, my primary goal is to integrate multi-omics into my research. Specifically, I plan to establish and optimize multi-omics data analysis pipelines tailored to my research needs and effectively apply the knowledge gained to link microbiome data with metabolomics data to try and elucidate host-microbiome interactions relevant to human health following environmental exposure.
The Multi-omics Boot Camp has been a transformative experience, providing the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to advance my research and contribute to the broader scientific community. I am deeply grateful for the STEP Award, which made my attendance at the boot camp possible. I am excited to implement what I have learned and look forward to achieving significant research milestones.
The STEP Award is one way SOT bolsters the preparation of graduate students for entry into the workforce. Outstanding doctoral students apply for support for training in areas that are necessary for them to achieve their career goals but outside the immediate scope of their graduate training and research program. There are two deadlines a year: September 15 and April 15.
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