Prof. Emma Allen-Vercoe was interviewed for a Sept. 6 story on Smithsonian.com exploring health claims about probiotics.

The story discussed two studies that found probiotic dietary supplements are not universally beneficial. The studies found that efficacy depends on whether an individual’s gastrointestinal tract accepts generic probiotics or rejects them before they get a chance to work.

A professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Vercoe discussed commercially available probiotics and how they work in the gut.

She studies normal human gut microbiota in disease and health, using her lab’s Robogut to examine microbial ecosystems.