Prof. Emma Allen-Vercoe
Prof. Emma Allen-Vercoe

Probiotics — in yogurt, drink or capsule form — aren’t necessarily providing benefits to the human gut. According to an article in The Atlantic, typical bacterial strains in these products don’t adapt well inside us. University of Guelph professor Emma Allen-Vercoe, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, said the smart way to administer probiotics is to consider an individual’s existing microbial ecosystem first. Quoted in the piece, Allen-Vercoe discussed personalizing probiotics. She studies normal human gut microbiota, both in disease and health. Her motto? “My microbes told me to do it.”