I fell in love with the microbiome research while doing my PhD. My research focused on the effect of secondary metabolites in colorectal cancer and quickly discovered the importance of the individual microbiome responding to different nutritional interventions and treatments. I got a EU funded Marie Curie individual fellowship to investigate the effect of secondary metabolites in gut development in early life. The presence of microorganisms in the gut during the early stages of life is a critical event in the normal development of the gastrointestinal tract. Imbalances in the microbiota in early life have been linked to the development of long-term disorders (including asthma, atopic disease, and necrotising enterocolitis). Given the huge cost of treating these diseases, the preliminary results from my research as part of my Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual fellowship could have major implications for public health strategies because correcting imbalances in early development of the microbiota (through bacterial or biochemical interventions) could provide new modalities to treat or prevent a range of disorders.