Purna C. Kashyap MBBS

Dr. Purna C. Kashyap is a Professor of Medicine and Physiology, Co-Director of the Microbiome and High-Definition Therapeutics program in the Center for Individualized Medicine, and Director of the germ-free mouse facility at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. The Gut Microbiome laboratory led by Dr. Kashyap is interested in understanding the complex interactions between diet, gut microbiome, and host physiology and strives to move the field beyond associations of the microbiome with different diseases to defining the functional role of gut microbes in regulating host physiology. The laboratory uses germ-free mouse models in conjunction with measures of gastrointestinal physiology in vitro and in vivo to investigate the effects of gut microbial products on host gastrointestinal function. In parallel, they use a systems approach incorporating multi-omics, patient metadata, and physiologic tissue responses in human studies, to aid in the discovery of novel microbial drivers of disease. The overall goal of the program is to develop novel microbiota-targeted therapies. Dr. Kashyap has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in journals like Cell, Cell Host Microbe, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, and Gastroenterology. He previously served on the scientific advisory board of the American Gastroenterology Association Gut Microbiome Center, and on the council of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society. He now serves on the council and the research committee of the American Gastroenterology Association, and in editorial roles for Gut Microbes and Neurogastroenterology and Motility journal and was recently inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation.