Email

shelly.buffington@bcm.edu

Positions

Assistant Professor

Center for Precision Environmental Health, Department of Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Addresses

Baylor College of Medicine (Office)

BCM-Alkek Research Tower
Room: BCMN-N1317.06
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-1088
shelly.buffington@bcm.edu

Education

PhD from Baylor College of Medicine

10/2012 - Houston, Texas United States

Neuroscience

BS from University of Arkansas

05/2007 - Fayetteville, Arkansas United States

Biophysical Chemistry

Professional Statement

In my lab, as people (daughters and sons, partners, mothers and fathers), we are passionate about women’s health and the long-term health outcomes of their developing children. As neuroscientists, we are fascinated by the intricate mechanisms orchestrating early-life neurodevelopment, how it goes right and the interaction of genetic and nongenetic environmental risk factors that can lead to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in children and adults.

The goal of our research program is to elucidate the mechanisms by which maternal environmental exposures leading up to and throughout the reproductive lifespan impact neurodevelopmental health outcomes and risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in descendant generations. We are particularly interested in the duality of the maternal gut microbiome as both a potential contributor to and a therapeutic target for reducing risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Through studying host-microbe interactions contributing to neurodevelopment, brain function, and behavior, we are identifying fundamental mechanisms by which the brain processes information and drives complex behavior. Simultaneously, we are discovering new and innovative therapeutic approaches to reduce risk for neurodevelopmental disorders linked to maternal environmental exposures.

Why, as neuroscientists, are we interested in studying the maternal gut microbiome, its natural remodeling during pregnancy, and how certain environmental factors perturb this critical ecosystem? Maternal gut microbiota regulate early-life offspring development via four primary routes: 1) pre- and 2) postnatal exposure to maternal microbially-derived metabolites, 3) modulation of immune signaling at the maternal-fetal interface, and 4) postnatal mother-to-infant vertical transmission of gut microbiota. During pregnancy, maternal gut microbiota provide metabolites that are essential for fetal growth, immune cell maturation, and neural circuit formation. At parturition, maternal vaginal and skin microbes pioneer colonizing the infant gut, but only transiently, and are then replaced by maternal gut strains that persist throughout development. Consequently, ‘dysbiosis’ (a pathological disruption of the microbial ecosystem) of the gut microbiome is increasingly implicated in the growing burden of non-communicable chronic diseases, including neurodevelopmental disorders. The underlying mechanisms, particularly those affecting brain function and behavior, however, remain unresolved and the potential for therapeutic targeting of the maternal gut microbiome to reduce disease risk in children unrealized.

To close these gaps, we take a highly interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of neuroscience, anaerobic microbiology, and immunology combined with functional integrated multi-OMICs to study host-microbe interactions mediating intergenerational effects of maternal environmental exposures on descendant neurodevelopment and behavior, with the ultimate goal of delivering transformative antenatal care to prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of maternal environmental exposures on neurodevelopment in descendants.

Websites

Videos

Professional Development

Ion Channel Physiology

Course (Participant, 2011)

Sponsor: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Selected Publications

• Di Gesù CM*, Matz LM*, Bolding IJ, Fultz R, Hoffman KL, Marino Gammazza A, Petrosino JF, Buffington SA "Maternal gut microbiota mediate intergenerational effects of high-fat diet on descendant social behavior." Cell Rep. 2022; Pubmed PMID: 36223744
• Buffington SA*, Dooling SW*, Sgritta M, Noecker C, Murillo OD, Felice DF, Turnbaugh PJ, Costa-Mattioli M "Dissecting the contribution of host genetics and the microbiome in complex behaviors.." Cell. 2021; Pubmed PMID: 33705688
• Di Gesù CM, Matz LM, Buffington SA "Diet-induced dysbiosis of the maternal gut microbiome in early life programming of neurodevelopmental disorders." Neurosci Res. 2021; Pubmed PMID: 33992660
• Buffington SA, Viana Di Prisco G, Auchtung TA, Ajami NJ, Petrosino JF, Costa-Mattioli M "Microbial Reconstitution Reverses Maternal Diet-Induced Social and Synaptic Deficits in Offspring." Cell. 2016; Pubmed PMID: 27315483

Memberships

Society for Neuroscience

Member (07/2007)

Funding

Targeting opportunistic pathogens to improve maternal obesity-associated health outcomes in offspring - #R01 HD109095

(07/25/2022 - 05/31/2027) Grant funding from NIH, NICHD

Maternal high-fat diet-induced epigenetic reprogramming of offspring brain and behavior

(09/01/2022 - 08/31/2024) Grant funding from John S. Dunn Foundation Collaborative Research Award

Maternal gut microbiota in fetal programming of neurodevelopment and related disorders - #R01 HD109780

(08/15/2023 - 06/30/2028) Grant funding from NIH, NICHD

Intellectual Property

Method Patent #BAYMP0183US.P1 (Approved)

Co Inventors: Mauro Costa-Mattioli