Jeffrey D. Salomon, MD

I am a pediatric critical care physician with a focus on changes to the microbiome in congenital heart disease. Recognizing the changes to the microbiome in critical illness having casual relation to outcomes, I began to ask if similar changes in patients with altered gut perfusion or low oxygen states had changes to the bacterial microcosm in the gut which could influence outcomes. As Cardiopulmonary bypass causes significant inflammation follow cardiac surgery, these changes to the microbiome, could influence patient outcomes. I hope to carve out my niche in the area of congenital heart disease within the growing field of the microbiome. My goal is to develop synbiotics which can be given to patient populations to improve the health of the bacteria in the gut and improve patient outcomes before and after surgical repair of cardiac defects.

 

A secondary interest is how the microbiome influences intestinal barrier dysfunction and intestinal metabolites to influence disease processes. The impact on a variety of disease states continues to grow, but yet little has been invested into pediatric disease processes. Understanding the role of gut health in a variety of diseases can help a multitude of patients, and evaluation of intestinal metabolites could offer patient specific therapies.