Jonathan Swann

Dr Swann is a Visiting Professor within the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction. Prof Swann is responsible for leading a metabolomic-based research programme to understand the influence of gene-environment interactions on the mammalian metabolic system and their implications for health and disease. His primary interests fall under two intersecting research themes:

(1) Role of the gut microbiota (the collection of microbes residing in the gastrointestinal tract) in the mammalian metabolic system and their association with host health and disease. This includes their contribution to host endogenous and xenobiotic metabolism, the gut-brain axis and its role in neurological disorders, the carcinogenic potential of the microbiome, and environmental and host factors shaping the acquisition and composition of the gut microbiome.

(2) Impact of early-life events and exposures on mammalian development particularly microbial-host interplay, metabolism, and phenotypic outcomes. A key research area is the application of metabolic phenotyping to the field of global health. Specifically, using a metabonomic approach to characterise the biochemical consequences of undernutrition and infection in children from developing countries to better understand the contributors to the long-term sequelae of early life undernutrition, including impaired cognitive, growth and metabolic functions.

Dr Swann’s research is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BBSRC, MRC, AstraZeneca, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). He is on the editorial board for the journal Microbiome and sits on numerous expert panels relating to the gut microbiota.

External Positions

Member of expert group, Exploring the role of the major gut microbiota cluster on nutritional and functional benefits of nutrients and non-nutrients, International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe, 2014

Selected Publications

Journals

Swann JR, Diaz Heijtz R, Mayneris-Perxachs J, et al., 2023, Characterizing the metabolomic signature of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in twins., Neuropharmacology, Vol:234

Giallourou N, Arnold J, McQuade ETR, et al., 2023, Giardia hinders growth by disrupting nutrient metabolism independent of inflammatory enteropathy., Nat Commun, Vol:14

Hodge SH, Krauss MZ, Kaymak I, et al., 2022, Amino acid availability acts as a metabolic rheostat to determine the magnitude of ILC2 responses, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol:220, ISSN:0022-1007

Smith LE, Chagwena DT, Bourke C, et al., 2022, Child Health, Agriculture and Integrated Nutrition (CHAIN): protocol for a randomised controlled trial of improved infant and young child feeding in rural Zimbabwe, Bmj Open, Vol:12, ISSN:2044-6055

Letertre M, Bhatt A, Harvey M, et al., 2022, Characterizing the metabolic effects of the selective inhibition of gut microbial β-glucuronidases in mice, Scientific Reports, Vol:12, ISSN:2045-2322