WFUWake Forest University · Biology
Cook Microbiome Lab
Katherine Loree Cook · Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Research Focus
Dr. Katherine Loree Cook's lab at Wake Forest University Health Sciences focuses on understanding how diet and the gut microbiome interact to influence breast cancer risk, particularly in obese individuals. The lab investigates how metabolites produced by gut bacteria, such as hippurate, can signal through specific receptors to reduce tumor growth and improve treatment responses. Through preclinical models and clinical studies, the research aims to uncover novel strategies to link diet, microbiome health, and cancer prevention.
microbiomebreast cancerobesitymetabolitesGPR109Adiethippuratetherapeuticscancer prevention
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate whether obesity shifts the bacterial-associated metabolome in breast cancer patients.
AIM 02Determine the impact of microbial-derived metabolite GPR109A receptor signaling on obesity-mediated ER+ breast cancer risk.
AIM 03Investigate whether GPR109A ligands promote therapeutic efficacy in metastatic ER+ breast cancer.
Skills the Lab Values
mouse modelsmicrobiome analysistissue culturemetabolomicsCRISPRcell signaling assaysRNA extractionbioinformaticsdata analysis
Output against the department
Publications222top 28% of dept.291st of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations9.4ktop 40% of dept.418th 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.