Ruairi Robertson

Ruairi Robertson is a Lecturer in Microbiome Science at the Centre for Immunobiology within the Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London. He leads research examining the critical relationship between early-life gut microbiome development and child growth, with particular focus on malnutrition contexts in low-resource settings.

• BSc in Human Nutrition from University College Dublin (2012)
• PhD in Microbiology from University College Cork (2016)
• Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard Medical School (2015-2016)
• Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship at Queen Mary University of London (2017-2022)
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Institut Pasteur (2022-2023)

Robertson's research focuses on the 'First 1000 Days' period from conception to age two, examining how gut microbiome assembly influences metabolic, immune, and endocrine processes critical for healthy development. His work combines in vitro, preclinical, and human clinical approaches to understand how disturbances in early-life microbial colonization (through poor nutrition, unhygienic environments, or antibiotic exposure) may impair growth pathways and contribute to malnutrition.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in African populations, particularly in Zimbabwe and Zambia. His work employs multi-omics approaches including shotgun metagenomics and metabolomics to examine gut microbiota composition and function in relation to clinical outcomes. Robertson's research spans from basic microbial ecology to large-scale intervention trials like the SHINE study involving over 5000 mother-infant pairs.

• Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
• Fulbright Scholarship

Robertson actively mentors students, with Jessica Shields having completed an M.Sc under his supervision. His laboratory currently conducts three major projects: META-SAM (Metagenomics and Metabolomics of Severe Acute Malnutrition), SHINE (Sanitation, Hygiene, Infant Nutrition Efficacy), and IMPRINT (assessing early-life gut microbiota's impact on later infection susceptibility). He welcomes potential PhD and postdoc candidates interested in writing fellowship proposals to join his lab. Through organoid models and clinical studies, his team investigates how gut microbiota influences intestinal barrier function critical for nutrient absorption and infection resistance in early life.