Make your microbiome results defensible and clinically relevant.
I help microbiome teams stop shipping pretty plots and start shipping conclusions that hold up under scrutiny. You get a clear action plan for methods, analysis, reporting, and claims.
R. William DePaolo, PhD (Immunology & Microbiology). Former founding director of a university microbiome center. 25+ peer reviewed publications.
• Built and led multi team microbiome programs from bench to clinic
• Deep expertise in immunology, microbiome science, study design, and clinical translation
• Known for calling out weak methods and fixing them fast
What I do
a reality check that turns into a roadmap.
I audit your pipeline, study plan, and reporting claims end to end. You get specific fixes, prioritized by impact and effort, plus language you can safely use with clinicians, partners, and investors.
Ways to Work Together
Offer 1: Microbiome Pipeline Reality Check (2 weeks)
A fast, high impact audit of your sampling, wet lab workflow, bioinformatics, stats, reporting, and claim boundaries.
You get
• Red flag list and root cause analysis
• Priority fixes ranked by impact and effort
• A reporting and claims guardrail sheet
• A short readout call with next steps
Offer 2: Study Design and Trial Readiness Sprint (2 to 6 weeks)
For teams about to spend real money on a study. We tighten endpoints, confounders, analysis plans, and decision criteria before you lock anything in.
You get
• Study design critique and redesign recommendations
• Endpoint and heterogeneity strategy
• Analysis plan guardrails and prereg ready outline
• Risk register (what could sink the study and how to prevent it)
Offer 3: Team Workshop (half day or full day)
Training for scientists, clinicians, and product teams on what breaks microbiome inference and how to prevent it.
Popular sessions
• How microbiome results get distorted (by accident or incentives)
• QC, batch, compositional pitfalls, and reporting honesty
• ML for microbiome (what works, what’s hype, what to demand)
Most microbiome programs aren’t failing from lack of data. They’re failing from weak foundations.
If you’ve ever felt unsure whether your results would replicate across labs, survive reviewer criticism, or justify clinical recommendations, you’re not alone. The field is full of avoidable failure modes.
• Batch effects and preprocessing choices quietly drive your “findings”
• Compositional data errors and multiple testing inflate false positives
• Study design and confounders make signals look real when they aren’t
• Reports overpromise, then trust collapses with clinicians and partners
• Teams chase taxonomy lists instead of meaningful function and outcomes
You don’t need more sequencing. You need tighter science and cleaner decision making.
Who this is for
If you’re in one of these seats, this will help.
• Founders and product leads building microbiome tests
• Scientific leads preparing clinical pilots or partnerships
• Sequencing and bioinformatics cores supporting multiple investigators
• Clinics offering microbiome programs that need credibility and restraint
• Investors and due diligence teams evaluating microbiome claims
How it works
Simple process. No chaos.
Step 1
Fit call (20 minutes). We define the goal and decide if the work makes sense.
Step 2
Intake. You share what you have (methods, pipeline overview, reports, study plan).
Step 3
Audit and synthesis. I review, stress test, and map failure modes to fixes.
Step 4
Delivery. You get a written roadmap plus a readout call to align the team.
About
I’m William DePaolo, PhD. I’ve led microbiome and immunology programs across academia and industry, built interdisciplinary research infrastructure, and worked across preclinical and human studies. My style is direct, practical, and evidence first. I’m here to make your results real, not just publishable.
Your Questions, Answered
-
Usually within one to two weeks, depending on scope.
-
Yes
-
I focus on audit, strategy, and governance. If implementation support is needed, we can scope it or I can collaborate with your team.
-
We offer flexible pricing based on project type and complexity. After an initial conversation, we’ll provide a transparent quote with no hidden costs.
Want a blunt read on what’s working and what’s quietly breaking?
Book a 20 minute fit call and I’ll tell you quickly if I can help. If not, I’ll point you toward the right next move.