Elizabeth Nancy Bess

Professor Elizabeth N. Bess of the University of California, Irvine Department of Chemistry leads interdisciplinary research fusing chemistry and microbiology to unravel the gut microbiome's chemical mechanisms in health and disease. Her lab explores the gut-brain axis in Parkinson's disease, microbiome hormone modulation (particularly estrogens linked to breast cancer), and dietary fiber metabolism's role in gut biodiversity.

• B.S. in Biological Chemistry (University of Utah, 2009)
• Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (University of Utah, 2015)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship (HHMI, UCSF, 2015–2018)

Her research spans three key domains: neurodegenerative disease mechanisms through gut microbiome interactions, hormone signaling via microbial metabolism, and ADME model refinement by incorporating microbiome-mediated drug processing. Recent work demonstrates how gut bacteria produce neurotoxic metabolite trios (dopamine/iron/α-synuclein) while uncovering lignocellulose-degrading microbes as potential probiotics.

Collaborations with medical teams and cancer institutes focus on improving breast cancer therapies through microbiome profiling. Her lab's publications reveal molecular pathways connecting gut microbiota to Parkinson's pathogenesis and drug resistance, supported by NIH R01 and NSF CAREER grants.

• Scialog Fellow (2021–2023)
• Young Investigator Grant (2020)
• Hellman Fellow (2020)
• HHMI Fellow (2016–2018)
• Career Development Grant (2016)

As mentor to PhD candidates Kylie Uyeda, Zane Long, and Barry Rich, she integrates gnotobiotic models (mice and C. elegans) with synthetic chemistry approaches. Her work was featured in CBS News Radio and Live Science, with technical innovations in electrochemical aggregation screening.