Michael Robert McLaren

microbiome, evolutionary theory, population genetics, microbial ecology, metagenomics, adaptation

Works (14)

Updated: July 5th, 2023 21:22

2022 article

Implications of taxonomic bias for microbial differential-abundance analysis

McLaren, M. R., Nearing, J. T., Willis, A. D., Lloyd, K. G., & Callahan, B. J. (2022, August 19).

By: M. McLaren* , J. Nearing *, A. Willis *, K. Lloyd * & B. Callahan n 

TL;DR: It is found that, for analyses based on species proportions, taxonomic bias can cause significant errors in DA results if the average measurement efficiency of the community is associated with the condition of interest, and these errors can be avoided by using more robust DA methods. (via Semantic Scholar)
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15. Life on Land (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: August 24, 2022

2021 journal article

Clostridioides difficile exploits toxin-mediated inflammation to alter the host nutritional landscape and exclude competitors from the gut microbiota

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 12(1).

By: J. Fletcher n, C. Pike n, R. Parsons  n, A. Rivera n, M. Foley n, M. McLaren n , S. Montgomery *, C. Theriot n

MeSH headings : Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents / adverse effects; Bacterial Proteins / genetics; Bacterial Proteins / metabolism; Bacterial Toxins / genetics; Bacterial Toxins / immunology; Bacterial Toxins / metabolism; Bacteroides / drug effects; Bacteroides / metabolism; Clostridioides difficile / genetics; Clostridioides difficile / immunology; Clostridioides difficile / metabolism; Clostridium Infections / immunology; Clostridium Infections / microbiology; Clostridium Infections / pathology; Disease Models, Animal; Extracellular Matrix / metabolism; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome / drug effects; Gastrointestinal Microbiome / immunology; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / immunology; Host-Pathogen Interactions / genetics; Host-Pathogen Interactions / immunology; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa / immunology; Intestinal Mucosa / microbiology; Intestinal Mucosa / pathology; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinases / metabolism; Mice; Nutrients / metabolism; Proteolysis; RNA, Bacterial / genetics; RNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification; RNA-Seq; Sigma Factor / genetics; Sigma Factor / immunology; Sigma Factor / metabolism; Transcriptome / immunology
TL;DR: Insight is provided into how toxin-induced inflammation alters C. difficile metabolism, host tissue gene expression and gut microbiota, together influencing a beneficial niche for infection. (via Semantic Scholar)
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2. Zero Hunger (OpenAlex)
Sources: ORCID, Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: January 20, 2021

2020 journal article

Clostridioides difficile carriage in animals and the associated changes in the host fecal microbiota

ANAEROBE, 66.

By: R. Thanissery  n, M. McLaren n , A. Rivera n, A. Reed n, N. Betrapally n, T. Burdette n, J. Winston n, M. Jacob n, B. Callahan n , C. Theriot n

author keywords: C. difficile; C. hiranonis; Microbiome; Ribotype; Antibiotic resistance; Animal; Canine; Equine; Feline
MeSH headings : Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology; Bacterial Toxins / genetics; Bacterial Toxins / metabolism; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Cats; Chlorocebus aethiops; Clostridioides difficile / classification; Clostridioides difficile / drug effects; Clostridioides difficile / physiology; Clostridium Infections / epidemiology; Clostridium Infections / microbiology; Clostridium Infections / veterinary; Coculture Techniques; Dogs; Feces / microbiology; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Horses; Hospitals, Animal; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Male; Microbial Interactions; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; North Carolina; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Ribotyping; Risk Factors; Tertiary Healthcare; Vero Cells
TL;DR: Experimental results showed a clear antagonistic relationship between the two strains in vitro, suggesting that commensal Clostridia might play a role in colonization resistance against C. difficile in different hosts. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: January 11, 2021

2020 review

Evaluating Use Cases for Human Challenge Trials in Accelerating SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Development

[Review of ]. CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 72(4), 710–715.

By: L. Nguyen *, C. Bakerlee *, T. McKelvey, S. Rose *, A. Norman, N. Joseph *, D. Manheim *, M. McLaren n  ...

author keywords: vaccine evaluation; COVID-19; pandemic; controlled human infection; human challenge trial
MeSH headings : COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Clinical Trials as Topic; Humans; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2
TL;DR: It is found that HCTs are likely to be most useful for vaccine candidates currently in preclinical stages of development, and that, while currently limited in their application, there are scenarios in which H CTs would be extremely beneficial. (via Semantic Scholar)
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3. Good Health and Well-being (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: June 10, 2021

2020 journal article

Pathogen resistance may be the principal evolutionary advantage provided by the microbiome

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 375(1808), 20190592.

By: M. McLaren n  & B. Callahan n 

author keywords: colonization resistance; commensal bacteria; defensive symbionts; evolution of immunity; host-microbiome interactions; microbiome
MeSH headings : Animals; Biological Evolution; Disease Resistance; Host Microbial Interactions; Invertebrates / microbiology; Plant Diseases; Plants / microbiology; Symbiosis; Vertebrates / microbiology
TL;DR: It is argued that pathogen resistance vies with other commensal-provided benefits for being the principal evolutionary advantage provided by the microbiome to host lineages across the tree of life. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Source: ORCID
Added: August 12, 2020

2019 article

Characterization of C. difficile strains isolated from companion animals and the associated changes in the host fecal microbiota

Thanissery, R., McLaren, M., Rivera, A., Reed, A. D., Betrapally, N., Burdette, T., … Theriot, C. (2019, October).

By: R. Thanissery  n, M. McLaren n , A. Rivera n, A. Reed  n, N. Betrapally  n, T. Burdette n, J. Winston  n, M. Jacob  n, B. Callahan  n, C. Theriot  n

TL;DR: The prevalence of C. difficile strains found in different companion animals to investigate a potential zoonotic link and a clear antagonistic relationship between the two strains in vitro are defined, suggesting that commensal Clostridia might play a role in colonization resistance against C.difficile in different hosts. (via Semantic Scholar)
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6. Clean Water and Sanitation (OpenAlex)
Source: ORCID
Added: December 9, 2019

2019 journal article

Consistent and correctable bias in metagenomic sequencing experiments

ELife.

By: M. McLaren n , A. Willis * & B. Callahan n 

MeSH headings : Bacteria / classification; Bacteria / genetics; Bias; Biota; Cluster Analysis; DNA, Ribosomal / chemistry; DNA, Ribosomal / genetics; Metagenomics / methods; Models, Theoretical; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods
TL;DR: This work proposes a mathematical model for how bias distorts community measurements based on the properties of real experiments and validate this model with 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomics data from defined bacterial communities. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Source: ORCID
Added: September 10, 2019

2019 journal article

Consistent and correctable bias in metagenomic sequencing measurements

BioRxiv, 2, 559831.

By: M. McLaren n , A. Willis * & B. Callahan n 

Source: ORCID
Added: February 26, 2019

2019 journal article

Current State of and Future Opportunities for Prediction in Microbiome Research: Report from the Mid-Atlantic Microbiome Meet-up in Baltimore on 9 January 2019.

MSystems, 10.

By: E. Sakowski *, G. Uritskiy *, R. Cooper *, M. Gomes *, . McLaren  n, J. Meisel *, R. Mickol *, C. Mintz * ...

author keywords: microbiome; bioinformatics; metagenomics; prediction; machine learning; conceptual models; quantitative models
TL;DR: The ideas generated by participants of the Mid-Atlantic Microbiome Meet-up in January 2019 are summarized and directions for future efforts that will advance the use of prediction in microbiome research are proposed. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Source: ORCID
Added: December 9, 2019

2019 journal article

Understanding and interpreting community sequencing measurements of the vaginal microbiome

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 127(2), 139–146.

By: H. Berman  n, . McLaren  n & B. Callahan n 

author keywords: 16S rRNA gene; amplicon sequencing; metagenomics; metatranscriptomics; vaginal microbiome
MeSH headings : Female; Humans; Microbiota / genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Reproducibility of Results; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Vagina / microbiology
TL;DR: Suggestions for critically interpreting research results and potential clinical applications based on community sequencing of the vaginal microbiome, and the advantages and limitations of community sequencing generally, are developed. (via Semantic Scholar)
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Source: ORCID
Added: November 2, 2019

2018 article

In Nature, There Is Only Diversity

MBIO, Vol. 9.

By: M. McLaren n  & B. Callahan n 

author keywords: metagenomics; microbial ecology; microbiome
MeSH headings : Metagenomics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
TL;DR: The need for investigators to choose the right molecular methods for their biological problem, as nature does not respect the limitations and conventions associated with the authors' methods is specifically noted. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Color Wheel
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, ORCID, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2016 journal article

Fitness-valley crossing in subdivided asexual populations

BioRxiv.

By: M. McLaren* 

TL;DR: This work describes how subdivision alters the dynamics of adaptation from those in an equally sized unstructured population and gives a complete quantitative description of these dynamics for the island migration model, providing a general and intuitive framework for predicting the effects of spatial structure in other models and in natural populations. (via Semantic Scholar)
Source: ORCID
Added: February 11, 2019

2013 journal article

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Cosmological parameters from three seasons of data

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2013(10).

Contributors: J. Sievers *, R. Hlozek *, M. Nolta*, V. Acquaviva *, G. Addison *, P. Ade *, P. Aguirre *, M. Amiri * ...

author keywords: CMBR experiments; Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect; physics of the early universe; cosmological parameters from CMBR
Source: ORCID
Added: February 11, 2019

2011 journal article

The Atacama cosmology telescope: Detection of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich decrement in groups and clusters associated with luminous red galaxies

Astrophysical Journal, 736(1).

By: N. Hand *, J. Appel *, N. Battaglia *, J. Richard Bond, S. Das*, M. Devlin *, J. Dunkley*, R. Dünner * ...

Contributors: N. Hand *, J. Appel *, N. Battaglia *, J. Richard Bond, S. Das*, M. Devlin *, J. Dunkley*, R. Dünner * ...

author keywords: cosmic background radiation; cosmology: observations; galaxies: clusters: general
Source: ORCID
Added: February 11, 2019

Employment

Updated: March 15th, 2022 21:14

2022 - present

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
Research Scientist Media Lab

2017 - 2022

North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina, US
Postdoc Population Health and Pathobiology

Education

Updated: November 15th, 2016 20:49

2010 - 2016

Stanford University Stanford, CA, US
PhD Biology

2005 - 2009

University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, US
BA Mathematics

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