Doctors told scientist Momo Vuyisich that a mysterious auto-inflammatory condition could leave him in a wheelchair within 10 to 20 years. Refusing to accept that prognosis, he spent his time reading every paper he could find on low-grade inflammation and joint pain, a search that eventually led him to co-found Viome, a personalized nutrition and microbiome company.
Experimenting on Himself
Convinced his illness was linked to diet rather than genetics, Vuyisich tried low-carb, vegetarian and keto eating, but none helped. Then he found research on Neu5Gc, a sugar molecule in red meat and dairy that humans don’t produce and that may trigger an immune response. After he cut both foods, he noticed major improvement within two months. He says symptoms returned each of the three times he reintroduced them over several years. His experience is anecdotal, not clinical proof, but it made him ask whether other chronic problems could be traced to hidden biological triggers.
His drive was shaped earlier, growing up in poverty in communist Yugoslavia. He moved to the U.S. at 20, earned a PhD in biochemistry and worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2010, frustrated by a healthcare system that treats sickness rather than preventing it, he refocused his career on the root causes of chronic disease.
Building Viome
The technology he developed at Los Alamos became the foundation of Viome, co-founded with entrepreneur Naveen Jain. Unlike DNA-based tests that show which microbes are present, Viome uses RNA sequencing to examine what those microbes are doing, then turns the findings into personalized dietary advice. Vuyisich compares this to aircraft maintenance, where technicians inspect thousands of components to catch failures early.
His biggest hurdle, he says, is education. Many people, including medical professionals, underestimate how vital microbes are to health. He draws a parallel to the 19th century, when doctors resisted the idea that microorganisms cause infectious disease. He hopes acceptance will come faster this time, though he expects change to take time.