Franck Carbonero, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Elson Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, was trained in the fields of microbial ecology, gut microbiome, animal and food sciences, and human nutrition. Franck obtained his Master of Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Functional Ecology from the Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France in 2006. During the mandatory 6-month internship, he performed research on anaerobic microorganisms found in the anoxic layer of a crater lake, with emphasis on Methanogenic Archaea and dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria. This led him to pursue related research on anaerobic methanogenic archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria in anaerobic estuarine sediments at the University of Warwick in England. He joined the laboratory of Dr. Kevin Purdy of the School of Life Sciences in 2006 for his PhD. In this research group, anaerobic microorganisms were tracked and used as models to test ecological theories of distribution associated with metabolic versatility. Through this PhD experience, he became acquainted with the burgeoning high-throughput sequencing technologies allowing for deeper characterization of the specific microbial communities of interest. These projects were highly productive and resulted in five research articles published in the most reputed microbial ecology journals. This unique set of skills provided Franck with the opportunity to join Dr Rex Gaskins’ laboratory in the Animal Sciences department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to become involved in gut microbiome research. As a postdoc, Franck got involved in different National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded multidisciplinary projects with the common theme of the gut microbiome and the microbes involved in hydrogen disposal and butyrate production. One of his earliest accomplishments was to test the long-standing hypothesis of methanogenic versus nonmethanogenic human subjects, which derives from breath methane as a biomarker. Indeed, using functional quantitative PCR assays on biopsies from different colonic regions of human volunteers, a ubiquitous presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria, methanogenic archaea and acetogens was demonstrated, confirming that both functional groups are normally present and that breath methane variable levels are likely due to heterogenous metabolic activities. Through the validation of these functional genes as markers of fermentative activities, Franck applied a similar approach with the addition of the butyrate functional gene as well as 16S microbiota analyses in the context of a grant let by Dr. Stephen O'Keefe at the University of Pittsburgh investigating if diet-microbiota interactions explain the strikingly lower colorectal cancer rates observed in Africans. A seminal diet switch study was conducted, and gut microbiota, metabolomics, and cancer biomarkers all collected and demonstrated the beneficial outcomes of the high-fiber low-animal fat “traditional African diet.” Through an NSF project led by Dr. Steven Leigh, he also applied similar data analyses on wild primates and native Africans fecal samples. This project resulted in a handful of highly cited articles. As a side project, he also collaborated with a European consortium studying isolated volunteers in a mock space shuttle simulating the duration of a flight to Mars (MARS 500). Another impactful article demonstrates that close contact between the six volunteers resulted in much less convergence in their gut microbiota than postulated. After 3 years of exciting and multidisciplinary research endeavors, Franck's career took a turn to yet another slightly different direction when he was hired as a faculty member by the Food Science department at the University of Arkansas. As a faculty member, Franck both kept performing collaborative research related to different aspects of microbial ecology and microbiome and developed an increasing interest in the effect of different bioactive compounds from plant foods on the gut microbiome. Collaborative research projects included investigation of the water microbiome both as impacted by fracking and by disinfecting agents used in water treatment plants. With Dr. Amelia Bartholomew from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Franck investigated the effect of increasing levels of irradiation on Gottingen minipigs and macaques, demonstrating that specific microbiota members could potentially be used as biomarkers of irradiation levels and predictors of survival. With Dr. Maxwell from the Animal Science department, he tested to an extent the hygiene hypothesis by assessing the effect of soil exposure in growing piglets. These studies strongly suggested that, as hypothesized by many, exposure to reasonable levels of dirt is beneficial in accelerating the development of a mature gut microbiome. Franck's main research program became somewhat specific to the study of both polyphenols and Maillard reaction products (MRPs) found in a variety of plant-based foods. With support from the Cherry Research Committee, in vitro, animal, and human studies were conducted for the first time on the impact of tart cherries consumption on the gut microbiota and associated metabolome. As the rather unique polyphenol profile of tart cherries was confirmed, it was also found that each technical approach resulted in slightly different outcomes. Overall, slight increases of Lactobacillus and Prevotella were generally observed, but the most consistent effect appeared to be on Akkermansia a genus that was simultaneously reported as responsive to different berries. MRPs are protein/carbohydrate complexes formed through food storage and heat treatments. In collaboration with Drs. Pauline Anton-Gay and Pascale Gadonna from UniLaSalle in France, animal and human studies were conducted on different MRP, either isolates or from bread and malted barley. While MRP impact appeared to be limited on the gut microbiome of healthy rodents, they appeared to help resolve the microbiota dysbiosis and symptoms from chemically induced colitis. As a longer-term research goal, Franck's started to combine studies of microbiota associated with polyphenol and MRP-rich foods such as grapes (and wine) and beer. In 2019, Franck was hired by the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and Washington State University as part of a strategic hiring aimed at developing a multidisciplinary research consortium across the recently established medical school and the highly successful Agricultural College. With the Covid-19 pandemic impending on human research opportunities, Franck focused on developing the collaborative research projects through grant writing efforts. With long-term grants now available with crop and food science collaborators, projects based on emerging and established plant crops in Washington State are now underway to continue and strengthen Franck's position in a “Soil to Society” research approach tailored for tangible human nutrition and health outcomes. Plant-based foods provide almost exclusively beneficial effects on the gut microbiome, and there is still a lot to discover in this area. Berries and other polyphenol-rich fruits consumption results in relatively consistent changes in the gut microbiota and can likely be considered as prebiotic foods. Food chemical, but also physical (MRPs) properties have an almost untapped potential to be optimized in the context of gut microbiome and other nutrigenomics outcomes. The authors declare no conflict of interest.