The Microbiome Master Key: Harness Your Microbes to Unlock Whole-Body Health and Lifelong Vitality | Rebuild Your Health & Immunity | Unlock Gut Health for Lifelong Wellness

by B. Brett Finlay, Jessica M. Finlay

Learn the secret to whole-body, lifelong the teeming world of microbes inside and all around you.

Hand sanitizer. Social distancing. Antibiotics. Fending off germs has long been considered one of the cornerstones of good health. But what if better health and more graceful aging actually went hand-in-hand with embracing microbes?

This eye-opening book breaks down what the latest research says about how the microbiome affects all aspects of physical and mental health—and what you can do about it.
• Potentially change the trajectory of 9 out of 10 leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes
• Increase your resistance to pathogens like the flu and COVID-19
• Keep your skin soft, healthy, supple, and less wrinkled
• Stabilize your weight and control blood sugar
• Improve your physical fitness and strength
• Fight “inflammaging”—low-grade inflammation that hastens the aging process
• Get a more restful and rejuvenating night’s sleep
• Reduce stress and improve mental health—and your long-term quality of life

442 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 10, 2026

About the author

Dr. B. Brett Finlay is a Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia. He obtained a B.Sc. (Honors) in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, where he also did his Ph.D. (1986) in Biochemistry under Dr. William Paranchych, studying F-like plasmid conjugation. His post-doctoral studies were performed with Dr. Stanley Falkow at the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he studied Salmonella invasion into host cells. In 1989, he joined UBC as an Assistant Professor in the Biotechnology Laboratory. Dr. Finlay’s research interests are focussed on host-microbe interactions, at the molecular level. By combining cell biology with microbiology, he has been at the forefront of the field called Cellular Microbiology, making several fundamental discoveries in this area, and publishing over 460 papers (h index=110). His laboratory studies several pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli, and more recently microbiota. He is well recognized internationally for his work, and has won several prestigious awards including the E.W.R. Steacie Prize, the CSM Fisher Scientific Award, CSM Roche Award, a MRC Scientist, five Howard Hughes International Research Scholar Awards, a CIHR Distinguished Investigator, BC Biotech Innovation Award, the Michael Smith Health Research Prize, the IDSA Squibb award, the Jacob Biely Prize, the prestigious Canadian Killam Health Sciences Prize, the Flavelle Medal of the Royal Society, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Prix Galien, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, is a Member of the German National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Microbiology, Chair d'État, Collège de France and is the UBC Peter Wall Distinguished Professor. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia. He is a cofounder of Inimex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Microbiome Insights, scientific cofounder of Vedanta Pharmaceuticals and CommenSe, Director of the SARS Accelerated Vaccine Initiative, and Founding Director and Senior Fellow of CIFAR’s Microbes and Humans. He also serves on several editorial and advisory boards, and is a strong supporter of communicating science to the public.