Exploring development and evolution of the maternal and infant skin microbiome

人体皮肤面临着不断的外界挑战。虽然皮肤已经进化到可以抵抗感染和污染等伤害，但其防御的关键因素是人体微生物群，这是第一层保护。尽管人们越来越认识到皮肤微生物群健康的重要性，但对婴儿皮肤微生物群的调查却很少，而且几乎没有对婴儿出生后皮肤微生物群的纵向发育进行调查。该项目旨在调查人类皮肤微生物组的发展和进化，同时更深入地了解早期微生物干扰对皮肤健康的影响。这些见解将是至关重要的制定下一代护肤产品，以保持整个生命过程中的皮肤健康。

Human skin faces constant external challenge. While skin has evolved to combat insults such as infection and pollution a key element of its defence is the human microbiome, the first layer of protection. Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of the skin microbiome health there has been little investigation of the baby skin microbiome, and almost no investigation of the longitudinal development of that microbiome after birth.This project seeks to investigate the development and evolution of the human skin microbiome while gaining a greater understanding of the impact that microbial disturbances in early years can have on skin health. These insights will be essential to the formulation of the next generation of skin care products to maintain skin health across the life course.