Rate My Professor Laura Bridgewater

Dr. Bridgewater's research focuses on the nuclear variant of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (nBMP2), identified by her laboratory in 2010, which regulates skeletal muscle contractions, learning and memory, and immune responses, as well as the gut microbiota's roles in obesity, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression, including responses to high-fat diets, stress, and potential bacteriophage therapies. She has mentored over 160 undergraduate researchers, more than half of whom co-authored peer-reviewed publications or conference presentations. Her research has received funding from National Institutes of Health RO1, RO3, and R15 awards, the Ira and Mary Lou Fulton Family Foundation, and BYU internal grants. Select publications include "Gut microbiota regulates the interaction between diet and genetics to influence glucose tolerance" (Medicines, 2021), "The nuclear variant of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (nBMP2) is expressed in macrophages and alters calcium response" (Scientific Reports, 2019), "Gender-based differences in host behavior and gut microbiota composition in response to high fat diet and stress in a mouse model" (Scientific Reports, 2017), and "The BMP2 nuclear variant, nBMP2, is expressed in mouse hippocampus and impacts memory" (Scientific Reports, 2017). Honors include the BYU Young Scholar Award (2004), College of Life Sciences Outstanding Mentor Award (2008), College Creative Achievement Award (2006), and Alice Louise Reynolds Women-in-Scholarship Lecturer (2006). She has delivered addresses as BYU Forum Speaker (2010), Inaugural Speaker for Utah Valley University Science Symposium Series (2012), and Keynote Speaker for the Richard G. Scott Science Scholarship Inauguration at Utah Valley University (2012).