Gut microbiota produces a vast number of  chemical signals, which are biologically active small molecules. These molecules are produced through the microbial breakdown of food and medication, and function by helping the microbes to live in symbiosis with their host and stand the harsh competition among each other. The human gut in turn has evolved mechanisms to detoxify, take up, or excrete these compounds, several of which have antimicrobial properties.

We focus on investigating the role of chemical signals that mediate the interactions between gut microbes and their human host through unraveling these microbial-produced chemicals and their role in governing different processes in 1) human health, and 2) microbial chemical ecology including cooperation or competition.