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Shawn is a US Marine Veteran and has a B.S. in Clinical Nutrition/Dietetics from Metropolitan State University of Denver, an M.S. in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences here at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a Registered Dietitian who completed his clinical training at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. In his free time, he enjoys reading fantasy and thriller novels, lifting weights and running, and his guilty pleasures are cooking/baking and watching WWE.
Kefir is a fermented milk product rich in diverse bacteria and yeast that interact with the host through secreted metabolites and extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs derived from Gram-positive bacteria (bEVs) represent a newly recognized class of bioactive molecules capable of modulating immune, epithelial, and neuronal pathways. My research investigates kefir-derived bEVs as potential therapeutic agents for colitis and neuroinflammation-linked depression.
Using murine models of DSS-induced colitis and LPS-induced neuroinflammation, I aim to determine whether kefir bEVs promote intestinal tolerance through Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)–mediated FOXP3+ Treg expansion, and whether they shift kynurenine pathway metabolism in the brain away from pro-inflammatory quinolinic acid toward protective kynurenic acid and serotonin. Complementary in vitro experiments in epithelial and hippocampal cell lines will define mechanistic signaling, including barrier integrity, cytokine responses, and TLR-dependent pathways.
The goal of this project is to establish a foundational framework for the therapeutic use of kefir-derived bEVs, identifying microbial candidates and mechanistic pathways that could guide the development of next-generation postbiotics for inflammatory bowel disease and depression.
LEND Clinical Fellowship through the Waisman Center 2023-24 training cohort