Esther J. Han, PhD

Our diets include myriad small molecules known as xenobiotics, which are mainly derived from plants, that influence cancer prevention and progression. When plants experience infection, they chemically modify these compounds to improve disease resistance, but whether parallel processes exist in mammals remains unknown. Given the strong association between inflammation and cancer development, and based on preliminary data indicating that inflammation-induced xenobiotic modifications can occur in the mammalian gut, Dr. Han will dissect how the gut microbiome and the host transform dietary xenobiotics to alter their function during health and inflammation. The findings from these studies will lay foundations to improve health through nutritional interventions. Dr. Han received her PhD from Princeton University, Princeton, and her BS from the University of California, Berkeley.