Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and eczema are two common conditions that affect 85 million children globally. While the annual medical costs is over 300 billion USD in the U.S., the negative social and psychological impacts of these conditions on the affected children and families are beyond imagination. It is known that gut bacteria (microbiota) play a vital role in many conditions such as colon cancer, obesity, diabetes, depression, dementia, eczema, and ASD.

By mapping individual profiles of good and bad bacteria, novel diagnostic biomarkers for early detection can be identified and personalized microbial replacement therapy would be offered to prevent or ameliorate many conditions not only limited to ASD and eczema. Modulation of children’s gut microbiota offers new hope to prevent onset of diseases and improves treatment outcomes.

In the near future, prediction of ASD before its onset using our novel stool microbial markers become possible so we establish the Hub of Advanced Technology for Child Health (HATCH) that specifically focus on ASD and eczema. In addition, we anticipate that HATCH will fulfil the unmet needs of important childhood conditions that are not supported by existing funding.