Paper of the Month: Award Winner Dr. Thomas Hitch

The research of Dr. Thomas Hitch in the Clavel lab introduces MiMiC2, a tool that builds defined microbial communities by selecting bacteria based on their specific biological functions rather than just their taxonomic diversity and abundance. By using this approach, scientists can create reproducible models to precisely study how the microbiome influences health and diseases. Their paper, “Function-based selection of synthetic communities enables mechanistic microbiome studies”, was honored with the “Paper of the Month” award for April 2026.