Professor Emma Allen-Vercoe

Emma obtained her BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of London, and her PhD in Molecular Microbiology through a partnership with the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research, now Public Health England. Emma started her faculty career at the University of Calgary in 2005 studying the normal microbes of the human gut. In particular, she was among the few that focused on trying to culture these ‘unculturable’ microbes in order to better understand their biology.  To do this, she developed a model gut system to emulate the conditions of the human gut and allow communities of microbes to grow together, as they do naturally. 

Emma moved her lab to the University of Guelph in late 2007 and has established a specialist anaerobic fermentation laboratory there. This has been further boosted by the award of a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Human Gut Microbiome Function and Host Interactions . In 2013, Emma co-founded NuBiyota, a research spin-off company that aims to create therapeutic ecosystems as biologic drugs, on a commercial scale.