Marie Lewis

Marie Lewis is an Associate Professor at the University of Reading, specializing in microbiota-host interactions and early-life environmental influences on immune and metabolic development. Her work focuses on understanding how early-life factors like diet, antibiotics, and farm environments shape long-term health outcomes. She holds a PhD in Molecular Microbiology (University of Exeter, 2004) and a BSc in Molecular and Cell Biology (University of Bath, 2000).

Key research areas include the role of intestinal microbiota in immune programming, the impact of dietary interventions on microbiota composition, and the mechanisms linking early-life experiences to conditions like allergy, autoimmunity, and metabolic syndrome. Dr. Lewis has led grants from institutions including the Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Her publications span studies on probiotic effects, iron metabolism, and sex-dependent immune responses. Notable contributions include demonstrating how farm environments reduce inflammatory disease risk and how weaning diets influence metabolic trajectories.

• Awards: Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (PI), Royal Society Grant (PI), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grant (PI)
• Grants: NIH-funded studies on environmental enteric dysfunction modeling, farm environment impacts
• Expertise: Piglet models, microbiome analysis, nutritional immunology