The BioCollective

The BioCollective operates as a microbiome research and development company, providing a platform to accelerate scientific discovery and the creation of health-focused products. The firm's journey began in 2015, founded by Martha Carlin, a citizen scientist, after her husband John's Parkinson's diagnosis in 2002 prompted her to explore the gut microbiome's role in chronic disease. Carlin applied her extensive background in accounting and systems thinking, honed during her time at Arthur Andersen and as an executive in real estate investment trusts, to understand the complex systems of the human body. She was joined by co-founders Dr. Jack Gilbert of the University of Chicago and Dr. Suzanne Vernon, formerly of the CDC, who brought expertise in autism and chronic fatigue, respectively, recognizing the overlapping gut profiles across various conditions.

The company's business model is twofold, serving both consumers and the research community. It has established one of the world's first fecal sample banks, collecting whole stool samples and extensive metadata from a diverse population of members aged 1 to 102. These viable samples are homogenized, allowing for multiple types of analysis from a single sample, and are made available to researchers in academia and pharmaceutical companies to advance their work. Revenue is generated from the sale of these samples and associated data to research partners, with a portion of the profits shared back with the sample-providing members.

A core product is the patented BioCollector™, a user-friendly kit for the at-home collection of whole stool, which ensures sample quality and stability for multi-omic analysis. The company also develops its own line of targeted probiotics under the BiotiQuest brand, such as Sugar Shift (formerly Sugar Buster), which was designed using its proprietary computational model, BioFlux™. This AI-driven model analyzes metagenomic data to predict metabolic outputs and prototype new formulas for specific health functions. The BioCollective has also collaborated with organizations like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Janssen Pharmaceuticals to develop TruMatrix™, the first whole stool reference materials, establishing higher standards for reproducibility in microbiome research.

Keywords: microbiome research, fecal biobank, gut health, probiotics, microbial data, metagenomic sequencing, Parkinson's disease research, citizen science, systems biology, computational modeling, BioFlux, BiotiQuest, Martha Carlin, TruMatrix, stool sample analysis, personalized nutrition, therapeutic development, microbial ecology, gut-brain axis, metabolic health, consumer health, biotechnology