On 26 August 2026, Ayesha Awan successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation titled “Interactions of dietary protein source with the host and gut microbiota” to fulfill her requirements for a doctorate from the Comparative Biomedical Sciences graduate program! Her work has focused on how different sources of dietary protein affect several aspects of host physiology, as well as the role of the gut microbiota in mediating these effects. This research could have future implications in treating diseases like IBS and Crohn’s Disease.
Ayesha has been an integral part of the lab, from helping plan our bi-yearly group retreats to her perseverance with working with our mass spec.
Following the defense, the lab celebrated with sparkles, food, and cake to commemorate the day.
Next, Ayesha will be transitioning into a postdoc position at UNC Chapel Hill for which she was awarded a NIH T32 fellowship. We are SO proud of her accomplishments and look forward to what is next!
