The Veterinary Microbiome Project

Dr. Lily Chen
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The Veterinary Microbiome Project translates fast-moving microbiome science into clinical reality for veterinary professionals. Hosted by Dr. Lily Chen — founder of Integrative Pet Wellness Center and the Unicorn Academy, and creator of the BiomeBalance™ sedation-free FMT method. Each episode brings researchers, specialists, and FMT pioneers into the conversations clinicians actually need — dysbiosis, chronic GI, allergies, oncology, and root-cause medicine you can use Monday morning. Real science. Real cases. A little magic.

Episodes

  1. 3 days ago

    Past the Buzzword: What the Gut Microbiome Is Really Telling You — Dr. Holly Ganz, AnimalBiome

    A practical guide to reading the microbiome report, choosing FMT, and resolving the cases that don't respond to conventional tools. The gut microbiome has gone from buzzword to bedside, but what is it actually telling you in practice? In this episode of The Veterinary Microbiome Project, Dr. Lily Chen sits down with Dr. Holly Ganz, microbial ecologist and Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of AnimalBiome, to turn microbiome science into clinical decisions. Together they unpack how to read a companion animal microbiome report without drowning in it: 16S rRNA sequencing versus the Dysbiosis Index, relative versus absolute abundance, and a simple three-part framework for spotting missing core bacteria, pathobiont overgrowth, and low diversity. They get practical on fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT): what goes into an oral FMT capsule, why consistency matters, donor screening, and when a case needs more support. Plus the gut-organ axes (gut-skin, gut-brain, gut-kidney), supplements and fermented foods, autologous self-FMT banking before antibiotics, and where microbiome-informed medicine is headed next. A must-listen for veterinarians, specialists, and integrative practitioners ready to look one layer deeper. Real science, real cases, and a little magic. KEY INSIGHTS: ✨ Dr. Ganz developed the first oral FMT capsules for dogs and cats after her own herding dog, Yuki, was cured of recurring hemorrhagic gastroenteritis once the missing gut bacteria were restored. ✨ A simple three-part framework for reading a report: check whether core beneficial bacteria are missing, whether pathobionts like E. coli or C. perfringens are overgrown, and what overall diversity and richness look like. ✨ 16S rRNA sequencing maps the whole bacterial ecosystem, while targeted panels like the Dysbiosis Index are built for known pathogens. Each has its place depending on what the clinician needs to know. ✨ Oral FMT capsules showed improvement in about 80 percent of cases within 30 days in AnimalBiome's data, though some animals need a slower, more gradual approach to tolerate them. ✨ Intolerance to a first FMT session is not a reason to stop. It can signal the microbiome needs more support, not less, since the immune system has to learn which bacteria are friend rather than foe. ✨ Donor screening is central to safety. AnimalBiome runs IDEXX and Antech panels on every donation to rule out parasites and pathogens before freeze-drying. ✨ A recent pilot study with Dr. Curtis Dewey linked FMT capsules to improvement in canine cognitive dysfunction, one of many emerging gut-organ axis findings spanning skin, kidney, and brain health. ✨ Autologous self-FMT, banking a healthy pet's own stool before a course of antibiotics so it can be transplanted back afterward, is an emerging option for protecting an already-balanced microbiome. RESOURCES: AnimalBiome: https://animalbiome.com AnimalBiome Veterinary Hub: https://animalbiome.vet Email: team@animalbiome.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/animalbiome Facebook: @animalbiomeveterinary Instagram: @animal.biome FOLLOW: Integrative Pet Wellness Center: https://integrativepet.com Unicorn Academy: https://theunicorn.academy Dr. Lily Chen: Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet Threads: @the.unicorn.vet LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA & The Unicorn Vet Join our newsletter to get more clinical microbiome insights 🐶🐈‍⬛

    Past the Buzzword: What the Gut Microbiome Is Really Telling You — Dr. Holly Ganz, AnimalBiome

  2. 23 Jun

    Why the Microbiome, and Why Now? w/Dr. Lily Chen

    Why the Microbiome, and Why Now? With Dr. Lily Chen Eight years ago, Dr. Lily Chen was seeing a German Shepherd named Klaus every couple of weeks for chronic diarrhea that would not resolve. She had prescribed everything and run every diagnostic. Nothing worked. Then Klaus's mom asked a question that changed the direction of Dr. Lily's career: why don't we try a fecal transplant? In this first episode, Dr. Lily shares the case that pulled her into microbiome medicine, why the original sedated FMT protocol had real limitations for pet families, and how that led her to develop the BiomeBalance™ method: sedation free, fast, and gentle. She also lays out why she believes every veterinary professional needs to understand this work, and what listeners can expect from the podcast going forward. KEY INSIGHTS: ✨ Klaus's case was the turning point. After one sedated FMT session his chronic diarrhea improved dramatically. After a second, it resolved completely with no further prescriptions needed.✨ The original sedated FMT protocol worked, but anesthesia was a deal breaker for many pet families. It added risk and cost, and many parents simply said no.✨ The BiomeBalance™ method took roughly five years to develop into a system that runs smoothly in a real, busy practice. It is sedation free, takes only a couple of minutes, and pet parents can stay in the room.✨ The microbiome connects to far more than GI disease: the gut-immune axis, the gut-skin axis, chronic allergies and itch, and even oncology and immune-mediated cases.✨ Tools like the Dysbiosis Index and microbiome testing now let clinicians measure what used to only be guessed at, including how habits like reflexive metronidazole use affect the gut long term.✨ Pet parents are already researching root cause options. If clinicians are not equipped to have that conversation, someone else will have it for them, not always accurately.✨ Future episodes will cover how to test and interpret microbiome reports, how to select donor material, how to support chronic GI, skin, and cancer cases through the gut, and how to bring clients along toward root cause care. FOLLOW:Integrative Pet Wellness Center: https://integrativepet.comUnicorn Academy: https://theunicorn.academy Dr. Lily Chen: Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vetThreads: @the.unicorn.vetLinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA & The Unicorn Vet Join our newsletter to get more clinical microbiome insights 🐶🐈‍⬛

    Why the Microbiome, and Why Now? w/Dr. Lily Chen

  3. 22 Jun

    Welcome to The Veterinary Microbiome Project with Dr. Lily Chen

    Welcome to The Veterinary Microbiome Project: Gut Health, FMT & Root Cause Medicine with Dr. Lily Chen The dog whose diarrhea comes back the moment they look at a blueberry wrong. The cat with IBD who has tried every diet trial and is still vomiting and losing weight. The patient on every allergy drug and injection who is still itching. If you have sat with a case like this and thought there has to be more I can do, this podcast is for you. Dr. Lily Chen is an integrative veterinarian, practice owner, and creator of the BiomeBalance™ sedation free fecal microbiota transplant method. The Veterinary Microbiome Project brings the gut microbiome out of the research papers and into the exam room, through real conversations with the researchers, specialists, and FMT pioneers redefining what is possible in clinical practice. Each episode covers dysbiosis, fecal microbiota transplant, the gut immune and gut skin axes, antibiotic stewardship, and the chronic and complex cases that keep clinicians up at night. No fluff. Just the science, the cases, and protocols you can actually use in a busy practice, because suppressing symptoms was never why we became vets. KEY INSIGHTS:✨ Chronic GI disease, relentless IBD, and allergy cases that fail every standard protocol often point back to the same root: dysbiosis.✨ The existing toolbox of symptom management is not keeping pace with how sick our patients are getting. Microbiome medicine is a shift that has already started.✨ Every conversation is built to leave clinicians with something practical: how to test, how to interpret results, how to bring clients along, and how to integrate root cause medicine into daily practice.✨ This podcast exists because veterinary professionals deserve a seat at the table with colleagues who refuse to settle for managing symptoms. FOLLOW:Integrative Pet Wellness Center: https://integrativepet.com Dr. Lily Chen: Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vetThreads: @the.unicorn.vetLinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA & The Unicorn Vet Join our newsletter to get more clinical microbiome insights 👉 https://theunicornvet.kit.com/vetsignup

  • 3 Episodes

About

The Veterinary Microbiome Project translates fast-moving microbiome science into clinical reality for veterinary professionals. Hosted by Dr. Lily Chen — founder of Integrative Pet Wellness Center and the Unicorn Academy, and creator of the BiomeBalance™ sedation-free FMT method. Each episode brings researchers, specialists, and FMT pioneers into the conversations clinicians actually need — dysbiosis, chronic GI, allergies, oncology, and root-cause medicine you can use Monday morning. Real science. Real cases. A little magic.

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