Cognition, Microbes, and the Gut–Brain Axis: Neurodevelopmental Disorders 2021 – present
Objectives
This program asks how gut microbes and environmental exposures shape neurodevelopment, and whether either can be modulated to improve cognitive and behavioural outcomes in autism and ADHD.
Work proceeds along four lines. The first characterised dysbiosis — bacterial and fungal — in neurodevelopmental and gastrointestinal conditions, and situates it within the dietary and lifestyle patterns specific to Qatar. The second developed a locally produced probiotic from fermented camel milk, currently at the stage of in vitro characterisation of its microbial content and functional properties. The third examines non-microbial environmental factors, in particular how the sensory environment affects cognition in autistic children. The fourth is exploratory: applying machine learning to large public microbiome datasets to test whether reproducible microbial signatures of neurodevelopmental conditions can be identified at all, and what such signatures would be worth clinically.
Projects
This program asks how gut microbes and environmental exposures shape neurodevelopment, and whether either can be modulated to improve cognitive and behavioural outcomes in autism and ADHD.
Work proceeds along four lines. The first characterised dysbiosis — bacterial and fungal — in neurodevelopmental and gastrointestinal conditions, and situates it within the dietary and lifestyle patterns specific to Qatar. The second developed a locally produced probiotic from fermented camel milk, currently at the stage of in vitro characterisation of its microbial content and functional properties. The third examines non-microbial environmental factors, in particular how the sensory environment affects cognition in autistic children. The fourth is exploratory: applying machine learning to large public microbiome datasets to test whether reproducible microbial signatures of neurodevelopmental conditions can be identified at all, and what such signatures would be worth clinically.
Projects
- 2022- Present: Development and in vitro characterisation of a probiotic from fermented camel milk
- Planned: Machine learning approaches to microbiome signatures in neurodevelopmental disorders — exploratory, using public cohort data.
- 2021-2022: Characterisation of the probiotic content of local commercial yogurts (in vitro)
- 2017-2022: Gut microbiome in autism spectrum disorder and inflammatory bowel disease — QNRF/UREP, first prize, 12th Annual UREP Competition (IRB-approved human research)
- 2023-2025: Impact of fluorescent lighting colour temperature on cognitive processes in autism — Co-Principal Investigator, VCU-Q Quest Grant
- 2020-2026: Assessing lifestyle factors, dietary habits on Obesity, Cancer and Psychiatric disorders in Qatar vs UK, potential role of microbiome (PhD student)
Public Talks
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TEDxDohaInstitute - Celebrating our Diversity.
Will cleanliness kill us? TEDxDohaInstituteمؤتمر التنوع يثرينا - هل ستقتلنا النظافة A public talk which contributed to raise awareness among the community on the benefits of gut microbes. |
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Austim Connect - June 10th, 2023
St Regis Marsa Arabia, Doha, Qatar. What's bugging in the Gut? A public talk which contributed to raise awareness among the community on the benefits of gut microbes and summarized results of my clinical study in Qatar. |
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"Role of the Gut Microbiota in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases" is a clinical study performed in Qatar under QNRF grant obtained in 2017. The aim was to: 1/ Publish state-of-the-art literature reviews on the role of human gut microbiota in Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD); 2/ Evaluate and raise awareness of healthcare profesionals, scientists and families in Qatar on the role of microbiota in diseases. In addition, we’ll evaluate readiness of the scientific community to the establishment of eventual clinical trials involving lifetstyle changes and fecal transplants; 3/ Produce preliminary data from locally collected stool samples, which will be compared to data produced internationally from other patients. Eventually, this will help us argue for possible lifetsyle-dependant microbial signatures for ASD vs IBD. Public Summary of results HERE.
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"Characterization and Development of a Probiotic Yogurt using starters local to Qatar" is a synthetic biology project that aims at not only characterising the microbial content of local dairies, but also to develop a protocol that improves those probiotic characteristics.
Recently, Qatar has started to produce its own milk, its own yogurts and desserts. Only few of them specify the microbes that constitute them. This study tested several combination of starter, temperature, incubation time, milk organic or not, in order to draft with a technique to produce improved versions of these yogurts at home, with higher probiotic content and better resistance to acidity.
The aims of this study were:
Recently, Qatar has started to produce its own milk, its own yogurts and desserts. Only few of them specify the microbes that constitute them. This study tested several combination of starter, temperature, incubation time, milk organic or not, in order to draft with a technique to produce improved versions of these yogurts at home, with higher probiotic content and better resistance to acidity.
The aims of this study were:
- Characterize local yogurts and compare their probiotic content, abundance, resistance to acidity, antimicrobial property to Activia and Yeo brands.
- Optimize a method to improve probiotic diversity, abundance and resistance to acidity of local yogurts. Optimization will include time of incubation, temperature, local starter, milk type, pre-biotic additives.
- Develop a diverse probiotic formula based on previous studies to produce a probiotic drink or yogurt to be tested in vivo.
Microbial Reprogramming in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Review of Gut-Brain Communication and Emerging Evidence.
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Selected Publications
- Scarpellini, E., Abenavoli, L., Falalyeyeva, T., Kobyliak, N., & Bendriss, G. (2025). Editorial: Fecal Microbiota Transplants: challenges in translating microbiome research to clinical applications. Frontiers in microbiology, 16, 1704947. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1704947
- Al-Kuwari, A., Al-Karbi, H., Al-Khuzaei, A., Baroudi, D., & Bendriss, G. (2025). Beyond antibiotics: leveraging microbiome diversity to combat antimicrobial resistance. Frontiers in microbiomes, 4, 1618175. https://doi.org/10.3389/frmbi.2025.1618175
- Bendriss G, MacDonald R, McVeigh C. Microbial Reprogramming in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: A Review of Gut-Brain Communication and Emerging Evidence. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 26;24(15):11978.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241511978
- Gaskell C, MacDonald R, Aleem E, Bendriss G. Obesity and cancer: Unravelling the microbiome's hidden role. Front Nutr. 09 Jun 2025;12. 2025 June 9;12:1602603. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1602603/full
- Baroudi, D., Shahbik, L., Al Mannai, R., Sher Khan, A., Alladaboina, S., Lasta, S., Bendriss, R., & Bendriss, G. (2025). Fermented camel milk as a functional food for gut microbiota modulation: Mechanisms, therapeutic promise, and research gaps. QScience Connect, 2025(2), 10. https://doi.org/10.5339/connect.2025.10
- Ayoub, S., AlNaimi, N. ., Ibrahim, S., Manyama, J., Al-Marri, M., Al Naimi, A. J., Altamimi, A., Al Ansari, A., Esteban, C., Gaskell, C., McVeigh, C., Sebah, M., & Bendriss, G. (2023). Enhancement of Probiotic Yogurts’ Characteristics using a 24-hour fermentation process. Journal of Student Research, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsr.v11i3.1746. 3March 2023
- Salameh M, Burney Z, Mhaimeed N, Laswi I, Yousri NA, Bendriss G, Zakaria D. The role of gut microbiota in atopic asthma and allergy, implications in the understanding of disease pathogenesis. Scand J Immunol [Internet]. 2020 Mar [cited 2020 Jul 7];91(3):e12855. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/sji.12855
- Abdellatif B, McVeigh C, Bendriss G, Chaari A. The promising role of probiotics in managing the altered gut in autism spectrum disorders. Int J Mol Sci [Internet]. 2020 Jun 10 [cited 2020 Jul 7];21(11):4159. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21114159
- Al Theyab, A., Almutairi, T., Al-Suwaidi, A. M., Bendriss, G., McVeigh, C., & Chaari, A. (2020). Epigenetic effects of gut metabolites: Exploring the path of dietary prevention of type 1 diabetes. Frontiers in Nutrition, 7, 563605. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.563605
- Al-Ali, D., Ahmed, A., Shafiq, A., McVeigh, C., Chaari, A., Zakaria, D., & Bendriss, G. (2021). Fecal microbiota transplants: A review of emerging clinical data on applications, efficacy, and risks (2015 2020). Qatar Medical Journal, 2021(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.5339/ QMJ.2021.5
- Bendriss, G., Al-Ali, D., Shafiq, A., Laswi, I., Mhaimeed, N., Salameh, M., Burney, Z., Pillai, K., Chaari, A., Zakaria, D., & Yousri, N. A. (2020). Targeting the gut microbiome: A brief report on the awareness, practice, and readiness to engage in clinical interventions in Qatar. Qatar Medical Journal, 2020(3), Article 47. https://doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2020.47
- A comparative pilot study of bacterial and fungal dysbiosis in neurodevelopmental disorders and gastrointestinal disorders: Commonalities, specificities and correlations with lifestyle. Microorganisms, 9(4), 741. https://doi. org/10.3390/microorganisms9040741
TEAMS
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Role of the Gut Microbiota in ASD and IBD
Principal Investigator: Ghizlane Bendriss, PhD Co-investigator: Noha Yousri, PhD Mentor: Dalia Zakaria, PhD Alumni: Ibrahim Laswi, Dana Al Ali, Ameena Shafiq, Mohammad Salameh, Zain Burney, Krishnadev Pillai, Nada Mhaimeed. |
Characterization and Development of a Probiotic Yogurt using starters local to Qatar
Principal Investigator: Ghizlane Bendriss, PhD
Researchers: Sama Ayoub, Noor AlNaimi, Shahad Ibrahim, Jane Manyama, Maha Al-Marri, Al Jazi Al Naimi, Alyaa ALtamimi, Abdulaziz Alansari, Christina Esteban1, Christine Gaskell.
Principal Investigator: Ghizlane Bendriss, PhD
Researchers: Sama Ayoub, Noor AlNaimi, Shahad Ibrahim, Jane Manyama, Maha Al-Marri, Al Jazi Al Naimi, Alyaa ALtamimi, Abdulaziz Alansari, Christina Esteban1, Christine Gaskell.