Phoebe (Xu) Shi
PhD Dissertation Defense
Advisor: Dr. Amanda Ramer-Tait
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
1:00 pm
Food Innovation Center, Room 275
Zoom link: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://unl.zoom.us/j/99124119968?pwd=KnchbUVAbZ...
Zoom Meeting ID: 991 2411 9968 (Passcode: 716167)
“Defining the Causal Contribution of the Gut Microbiota to Cardiomyopathy Pathogenesis as a Basis for Developing Microbiome-Targeted Therapies”
Phoebe (Xu) Shi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), under the supervision of Dr. Amanda Ramer-Tait. She earned her BS in Food Science from UNL and her BE in Food Engineering from Northwest A&F University in China. Her doctoral research investigates the relationship between the gut microbiota and cardiomyopathy — the major precursor to heart failure (HF). Recent studies suggest that HF is associated with gut microbiota alterations, but the causative contributions of these changes to cardiomyopathy in particular remain poorly understood. Phoebe’s research addresses this gap by examining how microbial communities and their modulation influence the progression of cardiomyopathy using preclinical models of myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. Her work establishes a causal role for the gut microbiota in determining the severity of cardiomyopathy and highlights the potential of microbiota-targeted interventions as novel therapeutic strategies to improve cardiac health.
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[In Our GRIT Our GLORY]
Joshua R. Russo, MA
Graduate Program Coordinator & Course Scheduling Office Associate
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Food Science & Technology
Lincoln, NE
4024725301
