**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SOY IS PERVASIVE IN OUR LIFE. IT SERVES AS A KEY SOURCE OF VEGETABLE PROTEIN AND OIL, AND SOYBEANS CAN BE MADE INTO FOOD PRODUCTS LIKE TOFU, SOY SAUCE, AND MEAT SUBSTITUTES. ANOTHER REASON FOR SOY FOOD AS A VERY POPULAR PRODUCT IN THE GLOBAL FOOD MARKET IS ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH, FOR EXAMPLE, REDUCING RISKS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES THROUGH CONTROL OF CHOLESTEROL LEVELS, ATTENUATING DIABETES SYMPTOMS THROUGH REGULATION OF GLUCOSE METABOLISM, AND PREVENTING AND REDUCING RELAPSE OF BREAST CANCER. AS THE ASIAN PACIFIC POPULATION ACCOUNTS FOR THE LARGEST CONSUMER OF SOY FOOD WORLDWIDE, ASIAN WOMEN BENEFIT FROM THEIR EATING HABITS WITH A LOWER RATE OF BREAST CANCER THAN THEIR WESTERN COUNTERPARTS. NEVERTHELESS, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT AMERICANS CONSUME VERY FEW SOY FOOD OR ITS-DERIVED PRODUCTS IN THEIR DIETS PARTIALLY DUE TO THE CONTROVERSIAL DEBATES WITH RESPECT TO THE POTENTIAL PHYTOESTROGENIC EFFECTS OF SOY FOOD.OUR LABORATORY HAS BEEN STUDYING SOYBEAN PRODUCT AND ITSEFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH FOR MORE THAN DECADE AND DEVELOPED STRONG EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON OVERALL HUMAN HEALTH, WHICH OUTWEIGHS ITS SUBTLE ESTROGENIC EFFECTS. WE THEREFORE BELIEVE OUR RESEARCH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT CAN NOT ONLY PROVIDE KNOWLEDGE TO GUIDE PUBLIC HEALTH, BUT MAY ALSO HELP TO INCREASE SOY FOOD MARKETS IN THE UNITED STATES IF THE NOTIONS AGAINST THE USE OF SOYBEAN PRODUCTS COULD BE CORRECTED BY OUR STUDY.BREAST CANCER AND OBESITY-RELATED DISEASES AFFECT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WORLD-WIDE AND ELUCIDATION OF ITS PREVENTION THROUGH NATURAL BIOACTIVE FOODS LIKE SOY WILL HAVE GLOBAL IMPACT. IN ALIGNMENT WITH NIFA AND USDA RESEARCH PRIORITIES, OUR PROPOSED STUDY SEEKS TO PROVIDE THE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION AND ADDRESS PUBLIC DEMANDS FOR SAFE AND PROPER USE OF NUTRITIOUS SOY FOOD, USING A TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACH THAT CLOSELY MIMICS HUMAN PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES, AND TO DEFINE PREVIOUSLYUNDERSTUDIED AREAS FOR APPROPRIATELY APPLYING SOY FOOD DURING MATERNAL LIFE IN IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH THROUGH GENERATIONS. SCIENTIFICALLY, WE WILL ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS HOW MATERNAL SOY DIET MAY INFLUENCE INITIAL GUT MICROBIOME-MODULATED DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF OBESITY AND BREAST CANCER AS WELL AS INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE TWO MALADIES, WHICH WILL FACILITATE EXPLORATION OF A NOVEL PREVENTIVE STRATEGY THROUGH APPROPRIATE CONSUMPTION OF MATERNAL SOY-BASED NATURAL BIOACTIVE PRODUCTS AND/OR AN OPTIMIZED PANEL OF BENEFICIAL BACTERIA FROM CHILDHOOD LEADING TO IMPROVED HUMAN HEALTH LATER IN LIFE. EVENTUALLY, THIS STUDY WILL GREATLY ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE IN BOTH FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES IMPORTANT TO SOY AGRICULTURE, WHICH SHOWS TREMENDOUS IMPACT IN BOTH PUBLIC HEALTH AND FOOD MARKET IN A LONG-RANGE PERSPECTIVE OF VIEW.