Christopher Staley, PhD

The intestinal microbiota is a vital organ critical to the development, functioning, and health of the human the host. Our research focus is to characterize how disruptions in this community affect the onset and progression of diseases and conditions e.g., obesity, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel diseases. By applying microbial ecology principles and leveraging next-generation sequencing technologies, our goal is to develop targeted, microbiota-based therapies to improve patient outcomes.

• USEPA Scientific and Technological Achievement Award – Level II (2013)
• Microbial and Plant Genomics Institute Travel Award, University of Minnesota (2014)

• American Society for Microbiology
• Masonic Cancer Center
• Biotechnology Institute
• Microbiota Therapeutics Program

• Microbial community dynamics related to obesity and type 2 diabetes
• Fecal microbiota transplantation therapies
• Patterns of dysbiosis related to health outcomes
• Network modeling of microbial communities
• Personalized microbiota therapeutics
• Microbiota interactions in solid and non-solid cancers

Full Publications List

• Vaughn, B.P. Kaiser, T.,Staley, C., Hamilton, M.J., Reich, J., Craiziger, C., Kabage, A., Sadowsky, M.J., Khoruts, A. 2018. Fecal bile acid and microbiota profiles in inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Clin. Exp. Gastroenerol. 12, 9-19. doi:10.2147/CEG.S186097
• Webster, A.D.,Staley, C., Hamilton, M.J., Huang, M., Fryxell, K., Erickson, R., Sadowsky, M.J., Khoruts, A. 2018. Short-term changes in dietary sulfur content fail to alter the relative abundances of intestinal sulfate-reducing bacteria. Gut Microbes.in press
• Rashidi, A., Kaiser, T., Holtan, S., Weisdorf, D., Khoruts, A.,Staley, C.2018. Pre-transplant recovery of microbiome diversity without recovery of the original microbiome. Bone Marrow Transplantation.in press. doi:10.1038/s41409-018-0414-z
• Staley, C., Kaiser, T., Khoruts, A. 2018. Clinician guide to microbiome testing. Dig. Dis. Sci. 63(12), 3167-3177. doi:10.1007/s10620-018-5299-6
• Staley, C., Kaiser, T., Vaughn, B.P., Graiziger, C.T., Hamilton, M.J., Khoruts, A., Sadowsky, M.J., 2017. Predicting recurrence ofClostridium difficileinfection following encapsulated fecal microbiota transplantation. Microbiome 6, 166. doi:10.1186/s40168-018-0549-6
• Jahansouz, C.,Staley, C., Kizy, S., Xu, H., Hertzel, A., Corryell, J., Singroy, S., Hamilton, M., DuRand, M., Bernlohr, D., Sadowsky, M., Khoruts, A., Ikramuddin, S., 2018 Antibiotic-induced disruption of intestinal microbiota contributes to failure of vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Ann. Surg. in press. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000002729
• Smillie, C.S., Sauk, J., Gevers, D., Friedman, J., Sung, J., Youngster, I., Hohmann, E.L., Staley, C., Khoruts, A., Sadowsky, M.J., Allegretti, J.R., Smith, M.B., Xavier, R.J., Alm, E.J. 2018. Strain tracking reveals the determinants of bacterial engraftment in the human gut following fecal microbiota transplantation. Cell Host Microbe. 23: 229-240. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2018.01.003
• Staley, C., Khoruts, A., Sadowsky, M.J. 2017. Contemporary applications of fecal microbiota transplantation to treat intestinal diseases in humans. Arch. Med. Res.48(8), 766-773.doi:10.1016/j.arcmed.2017.11.006 PMID: 29183720
• Staley, C., Kaiser, T., Beura, L.K., Hamilton, M.J., Weingarden, A.R., Bobr, A., Kang, J., Masopust, D., Sadowsky, M.J., Khoruts, A., 2017. Stable engraftment of human microbiota into mice with a single oral gavage following antibiotic conditioning. Microbiome 5, 87. doi:10.1186/s40168-017-0306-2
• Staley, C., Vaugh, B.P., Graiziger, C.T., Singroy, S., Hamilton, M.J., Yao, D., Chen, C., Khoruts, A., Sadowsky, M.J., 2017. Community dynamics drive punctuated engraftment of the fecal microbiome following transplantation using freeze-dried, encapsulated fecal microbiota. Gut Microbes 8(3), 276-288. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2017.1299310
• Staley, C., Hamilton, M.J., Vaughn, B.P., Graiziger, C.T., Newman, K.M., Kabage, A.J., Sadowsky, M.J., Khoruts, A., 2017. Successful resolution of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection using freeze-dried, encapsulated microbiota. Am. J. Gastroenterol. 112(6), 940-947 doi:doi: 10.1038/ajg.2017.6
• Jahansouz, C., Staley, C., Bernlohr, D.A., Sadowsky, M.J., Khoruts, A., Ikramuddin, S., 2017. Sleeve gastrectomy drives persistent shifts in the gut microbiome. Surg. Obes. Relat. Dis. 13(6), 916-924. doi:10.1016/j.soard.2017.01.003
• Sadowsky, M.J., Staley, C., Heiner, C., Hall, R., Kelly, C.R., Brandt, L., Khoruts, A., 2017. Analysis of gut microbiota – an ever changing landscape. Gut Microbes 8(3), 268-275. doi:10.1080/19490976.2016.1277313
• Staley, C., Weingarden, A.R., Khoruts, A., Sadowsky, M.J., 2017. Interaction of gut microbiota with bile acid metabolism and its influence on disease states. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 101, 47–64. doi:10.1007/s00253-016-8006-6
• Staley, C., Vaughn, B.P., Graiziger, C.T., Sadowsky, M.J., Khoruts, A., 2017. Gut-sparing treatment of urinary tract infection in patients at high risk of Clostridium difficile infection. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 72, 522–528. doi:10.1093/jac/dkw499
• Staley, C., Kelly, C.R., Brandt, L.J., Khoruts, A., Sadowsky, M.J., 2016. Complete microbiota engraftment is not essential for recovery from recurrent Clostridium difficile infection following fecal microbiota transplantation. MBio 7, e01965-16. doi:10.1128/MBIO.01965-16
• Kelly, C., Khoruts, A., Staley, C., Sadowsky, M., Abd, M., Alani, M., Bakow, B., Curran, P., McKenney, J., Tisch, A., Reinert, S., Machan, J., Brandt, L., 2016. Fecal microbiota transplant prevents recurrence in multiply recurrent C. difficile. Ann. Intern. Med. 165, 609–616. doi:doi:10.7326/M16-0271