Dr. Andres Gomez received a PhD in Animal Science and Microbial Ecology from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in biotechnology and microbial ecology from the National University of Colombia. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota and was a staff scientist at the J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla, California.
Currently, Dr. Gomez is an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Since at the University of Minnesota, St Paul campus. His research focuses on using molecular, bioinformatics and data mining techniques to study the microbiome of animals and humans in the context of host nutrition, health and evolution. Specifically, his work has explored how lifestyle and diet can impact the gut microbiome of humans and animals in light of a changing ecology (Gomez, Rothman, et al. 2016; Gomez, Petrzelkova, et al. 2016; Gomez et al. 2015). Dr. Gomez has also explored how parasitic infections and antibiotic use shape mammalian gut microbiome composition (Vlckova et al. 2018; Vlčková et al. 2016) and how the immune environment impacts the gut microbiome to trigger patterns of health and disease in humans and animals (Gomez et al. 2012; Marietta et al. 2013). Lately, he has focused on unraveling the role that host genes and environmental factors play in shaping the mammalian microbiome (Gomez et al. 2017). As a member of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Gomez is using this research framework to continue his work on how the gut microbiome can be modulated to improve productive and health parameters in food animals (Castro, Gomez, White, Mangian, et al. 2016; Castro, Gomez, White, Loften, et al. 2016).
Castro, J. J., A. Gomez, B. A. White, H. J. Mangian, J. R. Loften, and J. K. Drackley. 2016. “Changes in the Intestinal Bacterial Community, Short-Chain Fatty Acid Profile, and Intestinal Development of Preweaned Holstein Calves. 1. Effects of Prebiotic Supplementation Depend on Site and Age.” Journal of Dairy Science 99 (12): 9682–9702.
Castro, J. J., A. Gomez, B. White, J. R. Loften, and J. K. Drackley. 2016. “Changes in the Intestinal Bacterial Community, Short-Chain Fatty Acid Profile, and Intestinal Development of Preweaned Holstein Calves. 2. Effects of Gastrointestinal Site and Age.” Journal of Dairy Science 99 (12): 9703–15.
Gomez, Andres, Josh L. Espinoza, Derek M. Harkins, Pamela Leong, Richard Saffery, Michelle Bockmann, Manolito Torralba, et al. 2017. “Host Genetic Control of the Oral Microbiome in Health and Disease.” Cell Host & Microbe 22 (3): 269–78.e3.
Gomez, Andres, David Luckey, Carl J. Yeoman, Eric V. Marietta, Margret E. Berg Miller, Joseph A. Murray, Bryan A. White, and Veena Taneja. 2012. “Loss of Sex and Age Driven Differences in the Gut Microbiome Characterize Arthritis-Susceptible* 0401 Mice but Not Arthritis-Resistant* 0402 Mice.” PloS One 7 (4): e36095.
Gomez, Andres, Klara J. Petrzelkova, Michael B. Burns, Carl J. Yeoman, Katherine R. Amato, Klara Vlckova, David Modry, et al. 2016. “Gut Microbiome of Coexisting BaAka Pygmies and Bantu Reflects Gradients of Traditional Subsistence Patterns.” Cell Reports 14 (9): 2142–53.
Gomez, Andres, Klara Petrzelkova, Carl J. Yeoman, Klara Vlckova, Jakub Mrázek, Ingrid Koppova, Franck Carbonero, et al. 2015. “Gut Microbiome Composition and Metabolomic Profiles of Wild Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Reflect Host Ecology.” Molecular Ecology 24 (10): 2551–65.
Gomez, Andres, Jessica M. Rothman, Klara Petrzelkova, Carl J. Yeoman, Klara Vlckova, Juan D. Umaña, Monica Carr, et al. 2016. “Temporal Variation Selects for Diet-Microbe Co-Metabolic Traits in the Gut of Gorilla Spp.” The ISME Journal 10 (2): 514–26.
Marietta, Eric V., Andres M. Gomez, Carl Yeoman, Ashenafi Y. Tilahun, Chad R. Clark, David H. Luckey, Joseph A. Murray, Bryan A. White, Yogish C. Kudva, and Govindarajan Rajagopalan. 2013. “Low Incidence of Spontaneous Type 1 Diabetes in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice Raised on Gluten-Free Diets Is Associated with Changes in the Intestinal Microbiome.” PloS One 8 (11): e78687.
Vlčková, Klára, Andres Gomez, Klára J. Petrželková, Christopher A. Whittier, Angelique F. Todd, Carl J. Yeoman, Karen E. Nelson, et al. 2016. “Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla G. Gorilla).” Microbial Ecology 72 (4): 943–54.
Vlckova, Klara, Barbora Pafco, Klara Petrzelkova, David Modrý, Angelique Todd, Carl Yeoman, Manolito Torralba, et al. 2018. “Relationships Between Gastrointestinal Parasite Infections and the Fecal Microbiome in Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas.” Frontiers in Microbiology 9: 1202.