Volker Mai

Assistant Professor

Department of Microbiology and Cell Science,  University of Florida

Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida  

M.P.H. (2000) Master of Public Health, Quantitative Methods, Harvard School of Public Health

Ph.D. (1999) Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia

Teaching Interest

My teaching interests include "Molecular Biology Applications in the Public Health Sciences", "Beneficial and Pathogenic Microbes", and "Cancer Epidemiology". Furthermore, I'm interested in helping students pursue individual research projects in the laboratory.

Description of Research

Our main research interest is in the associations between diet, composition of the intestinal microbiota and human health/disease. A special emphasis of the lab is on colorectal carcinogenesis and the mechanisms contributing to the increased burden of this disease in African Americans. In our studies we are using animal cancer models as well as epidemiological approaches in human populations.

An important part of our research is the determination of the diversity and the dynamics of the gut microbiota in healthy as well as in diseased subjects. In an animal models of intestinal carcinogenesis our group has begun to investigate how diet affects the composition of the bacterial microbiota and how both, diet and microbiota, are associated with intestinal carcinogenesis.

Our group is also involved in developing and applying molecular methods and metagenomic approaches for the detection of novel diarrhea pathogens in developing countries in Africa and Asia. In close collaboration with local researchers we are establishing a large repository of community DNA extracted from stools of healthy subjects and from patients suffering from severe diarrhea.  

Our lab welcomes students for lab rotations and summer programs, allowing them to gain firsthand experience in a medically oriented research lab.

Publications in Pub Med

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Selected Publications

• Mshvildadze, M; Neu, J; Shuster, J; Theriaque, D; Li, N; Mai, V. (2010). Intestinal Microbial Ecology in Premature Infants Assessed with Non-Culture-Based Techniques. JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS 156 (1): 20-25.

• Mai, V; McCrary, QM; Sinha, R; Glei, M. 2009. Associations between dietary habits and body mass index with gut microbiota composition and fecal water genotoxicity: an observational study in African American and Caucasian American volunteers. NUTRITION JOURNAL 8: art. no.-49.

• Roesch, LFW; Lorca, GL; Casella, G; Giongo, A; Naranjo, A; Pionzio, AM; Li, N;Mai, V; Wasserfall, CH; Schatz, D; Atkinson, MA; Neu, J; Triplett, EW. 2009. Culture-independent identification of gut bacteria correlated with the onset of diabetes in a rat model. ISME JOURNAL 3 (5): 536-548.

• Young, C; Sharma, R; Handfield, M; Mai, V; Neu, J. 2009. Biomarkers for Infants at Risk for Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Clues to Prevention?. PEDIATRIC RESEARCH 65 (5): 91R-97R, Part 2.

• Mai, V; Draganov, PV. 2009. Recent advances and remaining gaps in our knowledge of associations between gut microbiota and human health. WORLD JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY 15 (1): 81-85.

• Mshvildadze, M; Neu, J; Mai, V. 2008. Intestinal microbiota development in the premature neonate: establishment of a lasting commensal relationship?. NUTRITION REVIEWS 66 (11): 658-663.

• Flood, A; Mai, V; Pfeiffer, R; Kahle, L; Rosen, CJ; Lanza, E; Schatzkin, A. 2008. Serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 and recurrent colorectal adenomas. CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY BIOMARKERS & PREVENTION 17 (6): 1493-1498.

• Flood, A; Mai, V; Pfeiffer, R; Kahle, L; Remaley, AT; Lanza, E; Schatzkin, A. 2008. Insulin resistance and colorectal adenomas - Reply. GASTROENTEROLOGY 134 (4): 1269-1270.

• V. Mai, L. H. Colbert, S. N. Perkins, A. Schatzkin, S.D. Hursting. Intestinal Microbiota: A Potential Diet-Responsive Prevention Target in ApcMin mice. Molecular Carcinogenesis. 2007; 46(1):42-8.

• J.C. Lunn, G. Kuhnle, V. Mai, C. Frankenfeld, D.E. Shuker, R.C. Glen, J.M. Goodman, J.R. Pollock, S.A.Bingham. The effect of haem in red and processed meat on the endogenous formation of N-nitroso compounds in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Carcinogenesis. 2006 Oct 19; [Epub ahead of print]

• V. Mai, C.R. Braden, J.Heckendorf, B. Pironis, J.M.Hirschon. Monitoring of stool microbiota in subjects with diarrhea indicates distortions in its composition. Clin. Microbiol. 2006;44(12):4550-2.

• V. Mai, B. Greenwald, J. G. Morris, Jr., JP Raufman, O. C. Stine. Effect of bowel preparation and colonoscopy on post-procedure intestinal microbiota composition. Gut 2006;55(12):1822-3.

• N.A. Cornick, A.F. Helgerson, V. Mai, V. Sharma, J.M. Ritchie and D.W.K. Acheson. In vivo transduction of stx-encoding phage in ruminants. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2006:72:5086-5088.

• L. H. Colbert, V. Mai, J. A. Tooze, S. N. Perkins, David Berrigan, S.D. Hursting. Voluntary Wheel Running Inhibits Polyp Development in APCmin Mice. Carcinogenesis 2006;27(10):2103-7.

• J. Nataro, V. Mai, J. Johnson, W.C. Blackwelder, R. Heimer, S. Tirrell, S.E. Edberg, C.R. Braden, J.G. Morris Jr., J.M. Hirshon. Diarrheagenic E. coli in Baltimore and New Haven. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2006; 43(4):402-7.

• H. Trachtman, E. Christen, A. Cnaan, J. Patrick, V. Mai, J. Mishra, A. Jain, N. Bullington, P. Devarajan. Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalcin in D+HUS: a novel marker of renal injury. Pediatric Nephrology (accepted)

• A. Flood, V. Mai, R. Pfeiffer, L. Kahle, A. T. Remaley, C. J. Rosen, E. Lanza, A. Schatzkin. The Effects of a High-Fruit and Vegetable, High-Fiber, Low-Fat Dietary Intervention on Serum Concentrations of Insulin, Glucose, IGF-I, and IGFBP-3. European Journal Clin. Nutr. (accepted)

• A. Flood, V. Mai, R. Pfeiffer, L. Kahle, A. T. Remaley, E. Lanza, A. Schatzkin. Elevated serum concentrations of insulin and glucose increase risk of recurrent of colorectal adenomas. Gastroenterology. (accepted)

• B. Peters, Q. Lin, Q. McCrary, V.Mai. Similar microbiota composition in lean and obese individuals. (in preparation)

• V. Mai, Q. McCrary, Q. Lin, R. Sinha, C. Boushey. Differences in diet, microbiota composition and fecal mutagenicity between African American and Caucasian American residents of the Eastern shore of Maryland. (in preparation)

• V. Mai, H. Harmsen, G. Welling, B. Peters, S. Gill, J. Nataro, J.G. Morris, C. Stine. Comparison of results from conventional cultivation, denaturing gel electrophoresis, fluorescent in situ hybridization, qPCR, 16S rRNA library sequencing and shot gun library sequencing in the analysis of fecal microbiota from human volunteer. (in preparation)

• V. Mai, K. Winters, Q. Lin, D. Gordon, D. Baer. Effects of Fibersol supplementation on gut microbiota composition and association between gut microbiota and energy gain in a controlled crossover feeding study. (in preparation).

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