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How a Breath Test Could Help Decode the Gut Microbiome

Leslie Chan and her team are uncovering the hidden activity of the gut microbiome through an unlikely source: a simple breath test. Their newly developed ingestible probes translate microbial activity into detectable breath biomarkers, offering a noninvasive way to measure what gut microbes are actually doing inside the body. The technology could help physicians predict harmful drug side effects, detect diseases such as colorectal cancer earlier, and develop more personalized treatments. By turning a breath into a window on one of the body's most complex ecosystems, Chan's research is opening new possibilities for microbiome-based diagnostics and therapies.
 

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An AI image generated using Google Gemini depicts white ingested probes release gaseous reporters after sensing the activity of GUS (in purple), an enzyme produced by the gut microbiome (tan) that is responsible for unwanted drug side effects (i.e., gastrointestinal toxicity). After release, the gaseous reporters rapidly traffic to the lungs for exhalation, enabling measurement of intestinal GUS activity via simple breath analysis. Thus, ingestible probes enable use of breath tests to predict and manage pos
leslie-chan-probes-in-gut.jpg

Summary

Leslie Chan, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and her team developed ingestible probes that measure gut microbiome activity through a simple breath test, enabling earlier disease detection.

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Contact: Contact the BME Communications team to connect with a faculty member or student about academics or research happening in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.

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  • Workflow status: Published
  • Created by: la66
  • Created: 09/02/2026
  • Modified By: la66
  • Modified: 09/02/2026

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