Sarah S. Comstock, PhD
Sarah Comstock is an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biology from the University of California, Davis, and a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Chicago. After her PhD, Dr. Comstock completed post docs with Dr. Jenifer Fenton (Michigan State University) and Dr. Sharon Donovan (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).
Currently, Dr. Comstock is running a prospective longitudinal cohort study with pregnant women and their infants to understand the relationship between pre-pregnancy obesity and infant growth as mediated by maternal transfer of gut bacteria to her child. Previously, Dr. Comstock researched the effects of human milk components on immune development using the neonatal piglet as a model for human infants. She has also worked with a mouse model of food allergy to understand potential mechanisms of sensitization and the possible role of polyphenolic compounds in that sensitization process. During her most recent post doc she strengthened her nutritional epidemiology skills while determining associations between biomarkers and colorectal-polyps as well as assessing the effects of fatty acid levels on child growth. In the same post doc, she also assessed the role of dietary fish oil on gut microbiota and immune response in a mouse model of colitis.
You can find her publications by searching "Comstock SS" on PubMed.
Or, you can click this link to go to MyBibliography.
Her Google Scholar Profile is available here.
"The microbiota is the best because it is a read-out of the interactions between host genes and the environment. It's the ultimate biomarker." --Sarah Comstock
Dr. Comstock's contribution to FOOD@MSU regarding longevity of probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract.
If you are pregnant and interested in participating in her research:
Current Lab Support
The lab is currently supported by funds from:
Michigan State University
Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan Foundation: Antibiotic use during pregnancy and antibiotic resistance in offspring
Michigan State University/Wayne State University/University of Michigan ECHO Internal Grant Program
The National Institutes of Health, ECHO (Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes) Program (NIH UG3 OD023285)
Research Presentations:
June, Nutrition 2019, Baltimore, MD
May, Purdue Microbiome Symposium, West Lafayette, IN
June, Nutritional Immunology FASEB SRC, Leesburg, VA
June, Nutrition 2018, Boston, MA
March 2018, Keystone Meeting, Banff, Canada
April 2017, American Society for Nutrition Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois
Michigan Cohorts to Assess the Associations of Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Obesity with Pregnancy and Infant Gastrointestinal Microbial Communities
Effects of Storage Conditions on Gut Microbiota Data
May 2017, Michigan Dietetics Association, Grand Rapids, MI
Immune Modulating Effects of Human Milk Components
Lab Members
Fall 2019
Summer 2019
Spring 2019 UURAF
Fall 2018
Summer 2018
UURAF Spring 2018
New Freezer (March 2018):
Fall 2017
Summer 2017 (at Escape 20/20):
October 2016:
Summer 2016:
2015:
Mentoring has been a strong component of Dr. Comstock's research career. She has worked with undergraduate students, medical research fellows, veterinary students and graduate students as they undertook independent research projects under her mentorship. If you are interested in research opportunities in her lab, drop her an email at comsto37 at msu dot edu. Prior students, feel free to drop me a line to let me know where life has taken you!