Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus · BiologyEnvironmental Microbiota Research Lab
Andrew Patterson · University Park, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Andrew Patterson's lab investigates how environmental chemicals influence the gut microbiota and affect overall health. By studying the interactions between toxic exposures and gut microbes, the lab aims to uncover mechanisms that link environmental factors to diseases like metabolic disorders and inflammatory bowel diseases. The research has broader implications for public health, particularly in developing new probiotic treatments and improving risk assessments for chemical exposures.
gut microbiotaenvironmental chemicalsmetabolic disordersinflammatory bowel diseasestoxicologyrisk assessmentprobioticsmouse models
Research Aims
3AIM 01Explore how early-life exposure to environmental chemicals impacts health later in life.
AIM 02Investigate the effects of environmental chemicals on common gut microbes and their metabolic functions.
AIM 03Identify new pathways through which gut microbiota influence host physiological processes.
Skills the Lab Values
mouse modelsmicrobiome analysistoxicology techniquescell culturebiochemical assaysmetabolic profilingimmunological assaysDNA sequencingdata interpretation
Output against the department
Publications535top 7% of dept.73rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations25ktop 16% of dept.161st of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.