{"id":70794,"date":"2026-03-05T11:05:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/?post_type=hdsn_news_post&#038;p=70794"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:05:07","slug":"mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism","status":"publish","type":"hdsn_news_post","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">As understanding of the gut microbiome continues to grow, attention is turning to its potential impact on brain development, with major research investment being devoted to better assess the role of the maternal and developing infant gut microbiomes in healthy infant neurodevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hudson Institute of Medical Research\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/samuel-forster\/\" type=\"researcher-profile\" id=\"17016\">Professor Sam Forster<\/a> is a world leader in microbiome research and he\u2019s among a select handful to receive an award under Wellcome Leap\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/form\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Foundations of a Resilient Microbiome (FORM)<\/a> program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The human gut microbiome is essential for health, influencing nutrition, metabolism, immune function and more, so this project aims to explore possible links to the rise in neurodevelopmental challenges \u2014 including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its own words, Wellcome Leap builds bold, unconventional programs, and funds them at scale. Programs are optimised to deliver breakthroughs in human health over 5 \u2013 10 years and demonstrate seemingly impossible results on seemingly impossible timelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is an opportunity that excites Prof Forster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-exciting-opportunity-to-study-potential-links-between-autism-and-the-microbiome\">Exciting opportunity to study potential links between autism and the microbiome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Wellcome Leap FORM program is an ambitious global initiative to deepen our understanding of the factors shaping early neurodevelopment and improve support options for families. We are excited to contribute our microbiome expertise and novel technologies to help reveal how early\u2011life biology influences developmental trajectories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early-life pressures significantly affect the infant gut microbiome&#8217;s development, while maternal factors, including obesity and infections, also impact both maternal and infant microbiomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor example, we\u2019re learning that vaginal and caesarean births are associated with distinct early\u2011life microbiomes. These differences matter, and they show how much more we still have to understand about early\u2011life biology and potential impacts on neurodevelopment,\u201d Prof Forster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-five-fold-autism-increase\">Five-fold autism increase<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is an important concept to examine, considering that ASD prevalence has increased significantly, with a 5-fold rise in diagnoses in the US since the early 2000s, and the fact that more than 70 per cent of children with severe ASD presentations also experience gastrointestinal issues, indicating a link between gut health and neurodevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This project will adopt a new approach, as current studies often focus on correlations rather than causation, and existing microbiome assessments primarily catalog bacterial presence rather than functional health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof Forster will lead a team at Hudson Institute, including <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/sara-disimone\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/sara-disimone\/\">Dr Sara Di Simone<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/michelle-chonwerawong\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/michelle-chonwerawong\/\">Dr Michelle Chonwerawong<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/claudia-nold\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/claudia-nold\/\">Professor Claudia Nold<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/marcel-nold\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/marcel-nold\/\">Professor Marcel Nold<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/edward-giles\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/researcher-profile\/edward-giles\/\">Dr Ed Giles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-news-story-banners.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"572\" src=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-news-story-banners-1024x572.jpg\" alt=\"FORM group Sam\" class=\"wp-image-70796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-news-story-banners-1024x572.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-news-story-banners-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-news-story-banners-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-news-story-banners.jpg 1289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>L-R: Professor Sam Forster, Dr Sara Di Simone, Dr Michelle Chonwerawong, Professor Claudia Nold, Professor Marcel Nold and Dr Ed Giles<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"block--callout flex z-20 text-blue-800 bg-gray-100 p-6 mb-5 sm:mb-8 w-full\">\n        <div class=\"cms-content\">\n            <h2 id=\"about-the-mircobiome\">About the Mircobiome<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The gastrointestinal microbiota play an essential, though poorly understood, role in many aspects of human biology<\/li>\n<li>Emerging evidence suggests the bacterial community structure can impact things as diverse as autoimmune diseases, cancers, infections and neurodevelopment.<\/li>\n<li>Despite this importance, we are only beginning to grow these bacteria in the laboratory and genome sequence them, let alone characterise their interactions with the human body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n\n    <div class=\"block--callout flex z-20 text-blue-800 bg-gray-100 p-6 mb-5 sm:mb-8 w-full\">\n        <div class=\"cms-content\">\n            <h2 id=\"about-wellcome-leaps-form-program\">About Wellcome Leap&#8217;s FORM program<\/h2>\n<p>Today, there is much scientific debate about results suggesting a link between the early-life microbiome and neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism. There is, however, little debate that more research is needed.<\/p>\n<p>FORM, is focused on research to better assess the role of the maternal and developing infant gut microbiome in healthy infant neurodevelopment. Critically, FORM seeks to identify whether an accumulating set of early-life pressures to the developing gut microbiome could be one contributing factor to the rise in neurodevelopmental challenges \u2014 including, autism spectrum disorder (ASD).<\/p>\n<p>And further, whether resilience to functional disruption can be measured and supported in key developmental windows and increase options for support as a pathway towards reducing the likelihood of children experiencing severe autism-related difficulties that impact their daily life.<\/p>\n<p>The FORM program does not seek to prevent all forms of autism or to erase autistic identity \u2014 only to provide improved understanding and support.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As understanding of the gut microbiome continues to grow, attention is turning to its potential impact on brain development, with major research investment being devoted to better assess the role of the maternal and developing infant gut microbiomes in healthy infant neurodevelopment.&hellip;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":70795,"menu_order":0,"template":"","issue":[],"tag":[],"story-type":[87],"treatment-type":[95],"class_list":["post-70794","hdsn_news_post","type-hdsn_news_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","story-type-award","treatment-type-microbiome-medicine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism - Hudson Institute of Medical Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Major new investment and research in identifying if, when and how the gut microbiome is linked to or impacts autism.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Major new investment and research in identifying if, when and how the gut microbiome is linked to or impacts autism.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T00:05:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-feature-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism - Hudson Institute of Medical Research\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/website-feature-image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-05T00:05:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T00:05:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"Major new investment and research in identifying if, when and how the gut microbiome is linked to or impacts autism.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/website-feature-image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/website-feature-image.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"FORM Team Sam\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\",\"description\":\"Transforming lives through scientific discovery.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/hudson-logo-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/05\\\/hudson-logo-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":316,\"caption\":\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism - Hudson Institute of Medical Research","description":"Major new investment and research in identifying if, when and how the gut microbiome is linked to or impacts autism.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism","og_description":"Major new investment and research in identifying if, when and how the gut microbiome is linked to or impacts autism.","og_url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/","og_site_name":"Hudson Institute of Medical Research","article_modified_time":"2026-03-05T00:05:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-feature-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/","url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/","name":"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism - Hudson Institute of Medical Research","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-feature-image.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-05T00:05:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-05T00:05:07+00:00","description":"Major new investment and research in identifying if, when and how the gut microbiome is linked to or impacts autism.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-feature-image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/website-feature-image.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"FORM Team Sam"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/mysteries-of-the-microbiomes-potential-link-to-autism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Mysteries of the microbiome\u2019s potential link to autism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/","name":"Hudson Institute of Medical Research","description":"Transforming lives through scientific discovery.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/#organization","name":"Hudson Institute of Medical Research","url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/hudson-logo-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/hudson-logo-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":316,"caption":"Hudson Institute of Medical Research"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdsn_news_post\/70794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdsn_news_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hdsn_news_post"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdsn_news_post\/70794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=70794"},{"taxonomy":"tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tag?post=70794"},{"taxonomy":"story-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-type?post=70794"},{"taxonomy":"treatment-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/treatment-type?post=70794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}