Yung-Tsung Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science at the National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan. He received his training as a microbiologist at National Taiwan University and subsequently worked as a senior researcher at a probiotic manufacturing company in Taiwan, where he focused on functional probiotic development. His current research employs both Caenorhabditis elegans and mouse models to investigate the effects of lactic acid bacteria on host physiology. In addition, he explores the health benefits and underlying mechanisms of fermented foods, aiming to bridge microbiology, food science, and functional nutrition.

Our research primarily focuses on elucidating the impact of food-associated microbes on host metabolism and intestinal microbiota in the context of health and disease, with particular attention to obesity, metabolic disorders, and inflammation. A key aspect of our work is investigating the functional mechanisms of lactic acid bacteria in fermented foods and their potential health benefits. To further explore the efficacy of probiotics and other bioactive microbes, our research employs C. elegans as a model organism, providing a fundamental understanding of microbe-host interactions. Our expertise encompasses the cultivation of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, DNA-based genotyping, immunological assays, next-generation sequencing, and animal models, integrating multidisciplinary approaches to advance knowledge in microbiome research and its applications in health sciences.