Gregor Reid

immunologist, University of Western Ontario

As an immunologist, Gregor Reid has been studying probiotics as a way to slow the spread of disease since 1982. He is the current director of the Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics, and is the Assistant Director (International) of the Lawson Health Research Institute at University of Western Ontario.

Gregor Reid appears in the following:

Can Yogurt Slow the Spread of HIV?

Monday, June 08, 2009

HIV is sometimes referred to as a disease of the gut because of the voracity with which it attacks a victim's gastrointestinal tract. As researchers look at ways to limit the disease's affect on the body, a simple, stomach soothing solution came to mind: yogurt. More precisely, yogurt infused with friendly bacteria. Scientist Gregor Reid joins The Takeaway to talk about his work with HIV patients in Africa. There, in Tanzania, he has helped teach a group of "yogurt mamas" how they might serve up disease protection one cup at a time.

For more information, head to the pilot yogurt program's website, Western Heads East. Read more about the group, as well as other probiotic research, by checking out the article, A cultured response to HIV, in the June 2009 issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

Photos from Gregor Reid's trip:

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