The intestinal microbiota (sometimes called intestinal flora) consists of trillions of beneficial bacteria, which live in a synergistic relationship with their human hosts. It has only recently been discovered that such micro-organisms enormously impact our health in ways that had been completely unanticipated. Because of this, it has become important to understand how this microbiome is built and maintained within the intestines, which is where most of our bacteria live. That is the focus of  the Cisneros lab.