SUMMARY
Ruben A. Mars, Ph.D., studies how the gut microbiome and its metabolites influence human disease, treatment response and treatment-related side effects. Dr. Mars integrates microbiome and metabolome data to understand host-microbe interactions, identify microbial pathways linked to symptoms and outcomes, and turn these discoveries into clinically useful approaches for diagnostics, patient stratification and microbiome-based therapies.
In addition to a focus on gastrointestinal physiology and diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, Dr. Mars' research focuses on how the gut microbiome shapes outcomes in cancer care. He investigates how microbial communities may affect who responds to anti-cancer therapies and who has more-severe side effects. He uses multi-omics and metabolomics to uncover mechanisms that could guide more personalized cancer care.
Focus areas
- Cancer treatment outcomes. Dr. Mars studies how gut microbial communities and their functions or metabolites may affect response to cancer therapy and treatment-related side effects. He connects microbiome and metabolome patterns with patient outcomes to identify mechanisms that could support more personalized oncology care.
- Microbiome-based translation. Dr. Mars advances microbiome discoveries toward clinical use by focusing on evidence to support patient stratification and microbiome-based interventions.
- Multi-omics data integration. Dr. Mars uses innovative approaches to combine microbiome, metabolome and host measurements to explain host-microbe interactions in disease and treatment response. He uses these integrated analyses to identify pathways that may link microbial activity with clinical outcomes.
Significance to patient care
Cancer treatments and other medicines can work well for one person but cause serious side effects or have little benefit in another. Dr. Mars studies how bacteria in the gut may help explain these differences. He looks for patterns linked to better results or fewer side effects. His research may lead to tests that help healthcare teams choose treatments that are more likely to work. The tests also may help care teams manage symptoms earlier. This work may improve the quality of life during treatment and help more patients get the full benefit of cancer treatment.