Publications
Journal articles, conference presentations, roundtable papers, and structured databases in microbiome medicine, microbial metallomics, and food safety certification.
Editorial · 2025
Pendergrass, K.. Microbiome Medicine Journal, Volume I, Issue I.
Editorial premise advancing a metallomic-microbiome framework in which metal dyshomeostasis, particularly iron mismanagement, initiates neuronal vulnerability and selects for pathogenic microbial ecologies in Parkinson's disease.
Journal Article · 2025
Pendergrass, K.. Microbiome Medicine Journal, Volume I, Issue I.
Unifying framework positioning heavy metal dyshomeostasis as the initiating event connecting ferroptosis, microbial virulence, neuroinflammation, and α-synuclein pathology in Parkinson's disease. Introduces environmental metal exposure as the upstream driver that selects for Gram-negative, metal-resistant gut pathobionts.
Roundtable Paper · 2025
Eyer, K., Pendergrass, K.. Microbiome Medicine Roundtable, Volume I, Issue I.
Novel hypothesis proposing that MC1R loss-of-function variants alter neuromelanin composition toward pheomelanin dominance, reducing iron sequestration capacity and increasing ferroptosis susceptibility in dopaminergic neurons. Integrates pigmentation genetics with neural metallome regulation.
Roundtable Paper · 2025
Pendergrass, K., Eyer, K.. Microbiome Medicine Roundtable, Volume I, Issue I.
Evaluates MC1R agonism (melanotan I/afamelanotide and melanotan II) as a metallomics-informed therapeutic strategy. Proposes that MC1R activation biases pigment chemistry toward eumelanin, expanding metal sequestration capacity and reducing iron-driven ferroptosis in dopaminergic neurons.
Journal Article · 2025
Pendergrass, K.. Microbiome Medicine Journal, Volume I, Issue I.
Formal description of the Microbiome Medicine Roundtable as a structured, mechanism-first synthesis method for converting fragmented biomedical observations into coherent disease models and translational hypotheses.
Conference Presentation · 2025
Pendergrass, K.. 11th Beneficial Microbes Conference, Amsterdam.
Live demonstration of the Microbiome Signature Triangulation Method applied to endometriosis. Walked through metallomic signature analysis, microbial functional profiling, intervention prediction, and a STOP analysis challenging routine iron and zinc supplementation.
Journal Article · 2026
Pendergrass, K.. karenpendergrass.com.
Comprehensive review introducing microbial metallomics as a framework connecting environmental heavy metal contamination to pathogenic selection pressure, examining how bacteria acquire, transport, and utilize trace metals to drive virulence and antibiotic resistance.
Clinician-facing database formalizing disease-associated microbiome patterns through Major Microbial Associations (MMAs). Condition pages include validated interventions, promising candidates, STOP recommendations, and research gaps for endometriosis, Parkinson's disease, chronic kidney disease, and additional conditions in development.
microbiomemedicine.com ↗Eight per-metal standards documents (Pb, As, Hg, Cd, Cr, Ni, Sn, Al) with category-specific contaminant limits, ALARA-based principles, lot testing schedules, governance policies, and anti-circumvention language for food, supplements, cosmetics, and consumer products.
heavymetaltested.com ↗For detailed descriptions of the methodologies behind this research, including the Microbiome Signature Triangulation Method, MBTI Validation Criteria, Microbial Metallomics, Major Microbial Associations, STOP recommendations, and HMTc certification standards, see the dedicated frameworks section.
View all frameworks