The Whiteson lab was awarded an American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant to study the microbiome associated with colon cancer with GI specialist Dr. Bill Karnes at the UC Irvine medical center. A combination of low fiber diets and decreasing diversity in the human gut microbiome may be influencing colon health and cancer incidence. Their pilot project is entitled:  “Variations in local microbiome populations in normal colorectal tissue and polyps”.