Dr. Naughton is leading experiments aimed at exploring the role of environmental toxin exposure as a risk factor in neurodegenerative disease and disorders of gut dysbiosis involving the gut-brain axis.  He will be studying the effects of various neurotoxins as they pertain to NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the brain.  An additional project is focused on exploring the effects of air pollution on the gut-brain-axis.  For this project we are using the novel ABIOME system to study the effects of diesel exhaust particles on human gut microbial composition.  This will be the first study of its kind, and will lead to a better understanding of how the gut microbiome might serve as an intermediary to neurotoxicity.