Personalized Mediterranean diet guided by your gut microbes for heart and metabolic health

The Gut Microbiome and Personalized Mediterranean Diet Interventions for Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention

NIH-funded research Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11118944

Find out if using a person's gut microbes to tailor a Mediterranean-style diet can better prevent heart disease, diabetes, and related metabolic problems.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionBrigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Boston, United States)
Project IDNIH-11118944 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You would be part of work that looks at stool and blood samples collected over time from people who followed Mediterranean-style diets in long-term trials. Scientists will use advanced methods to read microbial genes, which microbes are active, and circulating metabolites to see how each person's gut community changes diet effects. The team builds on earlier results suggesting that using a person's own gut microbes at the right time can help keep weight and metabolic improvements. Findings could inform personalized diet plans or microbiome-based approaches to keep heart and metabolic health on track.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Adults at risk for cardiometabolic disease (for example, overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or prediabetes) who can provide stool samples and follow dietary guidance are the best fit.

Not a fit: People without cardiometabolic risk or those unwilling to provide stool samples or follow diet changes are unlikely to benefit from participation.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: Could lead to personalized diet advice or microbiome-based treatments that more reliably prevent heart disease, diabetes, and weight regain.

How similar studies have performed: Mediterranean diets have repeatedly shown cardiometabolic benefits and early trials suggest autologous fecal microbiota approaches can help maintain those benefits, but using combined metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics to personalize diet is a newer approach.

Where this research is happening

Boston, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.