GLOW (Gut Linked Outcomes in Wellbeing)

Microbiomes and Mental Health 

The gut microbiome plays a powerful role not just in physical health, but in brain function and mental well-being. Growing evidence shows a deep connection between the gut and brain through complex biochemical and neural pathways, yet little is known about how diet and lifestyles influence mental health, mood and behaviour.  

In October 2025, GLOW (Gut Linked Outcomes in Wellbeing) was launched as multi-institutional   research initiative including:

• Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE)

• Duke-NUS Medical School

• Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

• Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR GIS)

• NHG Health’s Institute of Mental Health (IMH)

• NHG Polyclinics and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH)

• Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

• National University of Singapore (NUS). 

The multi-institutional effort is focused on a landmark study exploring the links between Asian gut microbiomes and mental health. This initiative comes at a time where the prevalence of poor mental health is increasing, making it a priority for Singapore. 

Building on the National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme's PRECISE-SG100K cohort, the study will recruit over 6,000 participants, including individuals living with mental health conditions. Researchers will collect biological samples (stool, skin, blood) and conduct psychological assessments to gather data on participant mental health status, use multi-omics technologies to identify characteristics of the microbial communities inhabiting in participants, making this one of the largest Asian mental health-microbiome cohorts.  

In December 2025, PRECISE extended GLOW beyond Asia through a new collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). Researchers at UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and Centre for Healthy Minds will recruit 1,500 U.S. participants to complement the Singapore cohort, enabling cross-population analysis of the gut microbiome and mental health. The collaboration also opens a novel line of inquiry into the gut-brain axis: how mindfulness and meditation influence the microbiome, drawing on data from wearable devices and digital health tools alongside biological sampling. This international partnership reflects PRECISE's commitment to advancing precision mental health research through interdisciplinary collaboration across diverse populations.

Ultimately, the goal is to uncover how interactions between host DNA (genetics) and gut microbes shape mood, cognition, and mental well-being, identify microbial signatures and biomarkers, and ultimately inform the development of more precise and locally relevant interventions. In the future, these findings could potentially leading to more targeted care, new dietary interventions or microbial therapies.

Explore the links below to learn more about the GLOW Programme ⬇️

GLOW Editorials

Read the latest editorial features highlighting GLOW's research about the gut microbiome and its links to mental health across diverse populations.

Mental Health’s New Frontier: The Microbiome Within

Could the key to tackling rising mental health challenges lie in the microbiome? Researchers at GLOW are leading the charge to find out.

More Than a Gut Feeling

Interdisciplinary collaboration is the key to unravelling the complex relationship between mental health and the gut, say experts in psychiatry and gastroenterology.