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What was something about your project or the research process that surprised you and why?
I have always been fascinated by the human gut microbiome and how gut microbial diversity and abundance can significantly influence human health and disease outcomes. It was really surprising to see how a lot of sex-based differences in our samples were visible only when age was considered a factor for comparison. This is significant because gut microbiome can play a role in age-associated and gender-specific conditions like post-menopausal onset of osteoporosis and cardiovascular risks in females and testosterone decline in males. -
What is one thing you learned from this project that you can take forward in your future work? How do you see it being helpful in your chosen field?
This research project taught me how important it is to analyze data using different analytical lenses. Although I initially did not see many differences in male and female gut microbiome composition, bringing in age as a factor revealed many more differentially abundant microbial taxa. I learnt that meaningful findings often arise when an interplay of multiple factors or variables is taken into account.
I believe this approach will be valuable in clinical bioengineering research, a field in which I see myself working.
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