The central hypothesis [is] that specific bacteria have a mitigating effect on inflammatory bowel disease by metabolizing a plant-derived glucosinolate into an anti-inflammatory isothiocyanat. SYSTEMS BIOLOGY OF MICROBE-MEDIATED GLUCOSINOLATE BIOCONVERSION IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE -$1.6M over 4 years from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (Jason Papin, PI). The proposed program leverages expertise by clinicians and research scientists to develop a framework for predicting, testing, and defining the pathways that microbes use to convert phytochemicals to compounds that benefit the host. The specific outcome expected is a mechanistic understanding of the context in which microbial species produce maximal conversion of glucosinolates to isothiocyanates and their impact on human gut epithelial inflammatory signaling. This understanding will have a direct impact on mechanistic, therapeutic strategies for inflammatory bowel diseases which affect more than 1 million people in the US as well as many other diet-microbe-host interactions of importance in disease.