Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease affecting nearly three million people worldwide. While the gut microbiome has been widely studied in MS, the role of the oral microbiome has remained largely unexplored. Two recent studies from Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD’s laboratory now provide converging evidence that oral microbial imbalance is closely linked to immune activation and metabolic disruption in people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), highlighting oral health as an underappreciated contributor to MS pathobiology.

In this episode of the ECTRIMS Podcast, host Brett Drummond is joined by Mahesh Desai (Luxembourg Institute of Health) and Ashutosh Mangalam (University of Iowa), two internationally recognised leaders in microbiome and MS research, to explore how gut microbes influence disease susceptibility, progression, and immune regulation in MS.

What if your mouth could reveal important clues about multiple sclerosis? In this interview, Professor Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam, immunologist and microbiome researcher at the University of Iowa, explores the emerging role of the oral microbiome in MS.

Researchers in Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD’s research laboratory, in collaboration with University of Iowa College of Nursing, University of Iowa College of Public Health, and University of Iowa Department of Neurology, have identified a microbial ratio in the gut microbiome associated with multiple sclerosis and disease severity.

A recent article in The Conversation U.S. highlights cutting-edge research from the Mangalam Lab in the Department of Pathology at the University of Iowa, based on their newly published study in PNAS. The study uncovers a key link between gut microbiota and multiple sclerosis (MS), identifying a specific bacterial ratio that may act as a biomarker for the disease and help predict its severity.

Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam, Associate Professor in the department of Pathology, was a featured guest on the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Ask an MS Expert program. In this insightful episode on Gut Health and MS, Dr. Mangalam discussed the intriguing connection between gut health and multiple sclerosis (MS) with host Jon Strum, who also leads the popular RealTalk MS podcast.

Rachel Fitzjerrells, a Bioinformatics and Computational Biology PhD student in the Mangalam Lab, won the prestigious Max Smith Oral Presentation Award at the 71st Iowa Section AADOCR on February 13th, 2024.

Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam received a four-year VA Merit Award entitled “Role of HLA Class-II Polymorphism in the Regulation of Host-Microbiota Symbiosis”.

Stephanie Peterson successfully defended her PhD thesis in early October and completed the Immunology PhD program.

Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam was interviewed on the significance of the microbiome in health and disease for “Health You” a quarterly health publication of the Cedar Rapids Gazette newspaper.