The proposed K23 application will strongly support Dr. Tanya Nguyen?s long-term career goal of becoming an independent clinical scientist using innovative microbiome techniques to improve our understanding of biological and cognitive aging in persons with schizophrenia (SZ), in order to identify treatment targets to improve cognitive functioning. This proposal has considerable
Schizophrenia is one of the most serious and disabling mental illnesses, and is associated with cognitive impairment and increased risk of physical diseases and mortality. The goals of the proposed study are to understand the structure and function of the gut microbiome in schizophrenia, its role in cognitive dysfunction, and how it may relate to accelerated biological and cognitive aging in this population. Understanding microbial factors involved in schizophrenia may lead to development of new microbiome-based preventive and therapeutic interventions that may improve cognitive health and everyday functioning in this population.
