Intricacies of students attending medicine programs and their salivary microbiomes

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The human microbiome is defined as microbes, their collective genetic material and ecosystems established within and on the human body. These microbes and their genomes play a role in human physiology and homeostasis as well as may potentially be associated with disease onset and progression. As a result, understanding the human microbiome is essential for maintaining overall health and wellbeing. Researchers have found that the human microbiome can be affected by different environmental factors. Yet, the complexities of how these factors affect the diversity of the salivary microbiome are not well understood. Thus, for this pilot study, we aim to gain improved insight into the role of environmental factors on the salivary microbiome of students from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) medicine programs, which include Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) and Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM). Specifically, we plan to evaluate the role of perceived stress, diet, and lifestyle tied to an advanced and intense curriculum among 100 medical students. We will obtain saliva samples from these students, which will be categorized by program and further subcategorized by the year of their program and other demographic parameters. Extracted bacterial DNA will be subjected to sequencing analysis and results will be compared based on perceived stress level, diet and lifestyle variables. Finally, bioinformatics analysis (co‐occurrence, network analysis and function predictions) and statistical significance will be performed. Previous research efforts have yet to evaluate the combined effects of perceived stress, diet and lifestyle factors on the salivary microbiome in a student population. Medical school students provide a unique population to study, as they undergo an intense and overwhelming curriculum. The results from this study will serve as preliminary data to expand the project to a larger population in the community, with the potential to benefit the overall public health.Support or Funding InformationHPD Research Grant, Nova Southeastern University