Diet has a profound effect on the rodent phenotype, including gut health markers and microbiome, which has gained more attention in recent years.  However, it is still very common to find that the diet is not well-defined in the methods sections of publications.  This webinar will discuss the different types of diets available to researchers, critical factors present among different diets that can influence the microbiome and gut health, and why choosing mismatched control and experimental diets can make microbiome data interpretation impossible.  Ultimately, the goal will be to provide the audience with the rationale to be more critical when reviewing microbiome studies in the literature and to consider the diet carefully when designing microbiome studies.

Dr. Michael Pellizzon is a Science Director at Research Diets Inc, NJ, U.S. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Sciences from Michigan State University and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Science from Wayne State University during which time he studied the effect of various nutritional manipulations including changes in dietary energy intake and fat sources on obesity, metabolism, and atherosclerosis risk in rodent models.