Recent News
🦠 Serving as Co-Chair of the 2027 Lactic Acid Bacteria GRS
September 2026
I am excited to serve as a Co-Chair of the 2027 Lactic Acid Bacteria GRS, taking place in Ventura, California, prior to the GRC in July 2027.
The GRS will feature four sessions spanning microbiome and microbial ecology to therapeutics and applications. Applications are now open!
🌱 Continuing on the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Nutritional Microbiology GEM Leadership Group
September 2026
After serving in a student advisory role on the ASN Nutritional Microbiology GEM Leadership Group in 2025-2026, I am excited to continue serving for the 2026-2027 term.
Looking ahead, I will contribute to programming for NUTRITION 2027, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN).
🎓 Accepted into the UNC Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) Certificate Program
August 2026
I am excited to share that I have been accepted into the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) Certificate Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, effective Summer 2026.
The BCB Certificate Program provides interdisciplinary training at the intersection of biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, and data science. Through this program, I look forward to strengthening my computational and quantitative skills and applying them to my research in microbiology and the human gut microbiome.
📄 New manuscript submitted to Nature Communications — Preprint now available
July 2026
We have submitted our latest manuscript to Nature Communications. While the manuscript is under review, the preprint is now publicly available on Research Square: Read the preprint .
This study provides a comprehensive view of the gut microbiome across the human intestine using organ donor samples. By profiling bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microbial kingdoms across different intestinal regions, we uncover the spatial organization and ecological interactions that shape the healthy human gut microbiome.
🎉 Accepted to the ISAPP Annual Conference 2026 and received a travel award
April 2026
I am excited to share that I will be attending the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) Annual Conference 2026 in Japan from October 6–8. Conference details . I have also received a travel award from ISAPP-SFA.
Looking forward to connecting and discussing cutting-edge research on prebiotics and probiotics!
🧪 Presented at UNC Microbiology and Immunology Department Student Seminar
March 2026
Yunan gave a talk at the UNC Microbiology and Immunology Department Student Seminar about
“Synbiotic effect on C. difficile infection via Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) combined with a rationally-designed consortium.” This presentation talked about how we generated a rationally design microbial consortium, and how does prebiotic GOS enhances the persistence of administered RDC strains in vivo and conferred robust protection against
C. difficile.
🖼️ Poster presented at UNC Microbiology and Immunology Department Retreat 2026
March 2026
Yunan presented a poster at the UNC Microbiology and Immunology Department Retreat 2026 on
“Dietary Prebiotics β(1–4) Galacto-oligosaccharides Strengthen the Intestinal Barrier via Mucus Enhancement and Tight Junction Regulation.” This work used human primary colonic cells and HT29-MTX cells to investigate the direct effects of prebiotics on intestinal barrier function.
🎉 New paper published
January 2026
I am excited to share that my recent
paper "Prebiotic β (1–4) galacto-oligosaccharides strengthen intestinal barrier integrity via mucus production and modulation of tight junction genes" has been published in Food Bioscience.
🧪 Presented at the CGIBD Research Competition
December 10, 2025
Yunan attended the CGIBD Research Competition and presented her work on how prebiotics enhance the persistence of consortium bacteria in the gut. It was a great opportunity to showcase microbiome research and connect with the CGIBD scientific community.
🎉 Passed My PhD Qualifying Exam!
November 2025
I am excited to share that I successfully passed my PhD Qualifying Exam! This is a major milestone in my PhD journey, and I am deeply grateful for the support from my advisors, collaborators, lab members, and friends.
