Back to Basics: Understanding Terms and Methods in the Gut Microbiome Space

This product is free for Research DPG members.

This webinar was presented live on March 16, 2022.

Microbiome or microbiota? Healthy microbiome or dysbiosis? Whole genome or shotgun sequencing? Gut microbiome science continues to evolve at a rapid speed – challenging the non-expert to keep up! As nutrition and other healthcare practitioners across many specialties are, and will continue to be, required to respond to questions about gut microbiome, nutrition, and health it is of value to step back and ensure a foundational understanding.

This webinar is designed for the non-expert that seeks to improve the understanding of gut microbiome science – with a focus on common terms and continually evolving methods. Participation will support the ability of practitioners to review and evaluate gut microbiome research and the degree to which it supports dietary recommendations and guidance – now and in the future.

CPEU: 1.0
CPE Level: 1
Performance Indicators: 2.1.3, 4.1.2, 8.1.1

Learning Objectives

1. Define and distinguish across terms that are commonly used in the gut microbiome space to support accurate interpretation of research.
2. Describe both commonly used methods and emerging methods for sample analysis and data translation in the gut microbiome field, to include strengths and limitations of the techniques and the information they provide.
3. Interpret and apply evidence-based literature to support the gut microbiome.

Speakers

Vincent Young, MD, PhD

Dr. Young is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases Division and the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He received his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his M.D. and PhD from Stanford University. He completed his clinical training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He was previously on the faculty at Michigan State University prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2007. Dr. Young has a long-standing interest in understanding the pathogenesis of bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract and the role of the normal microbiota in human health and disease. Current research in the Young Lab includes a "team science" effort to understand the pathogenesis Clostridium difficile infection by an integrated approach that combines clinical research, bacterial genomics, microbial ecology and immunology/host response projects. Dr. Young also leads a Human Microbiome Project on the role of the microbiome in inflammatory bowel disease. He is also involved in projects that look at microbial communities in the lungs of patients with HIV infection and cystic fibrosis.

Henrik Munch Roager, PhD

Henrik Munch Roager is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, at University of Copenhagen, and the group leader of the Microbiome & Metabolomics research group. He and his group seek to advance nutrition research by understanding the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota contributes to food digestion and health, and to accelerate this knowledge toward personalized nutrition strategies and novel food products. Henrik is specialized in combining the fields of metabolomics, gut microbiome, and human nutrition with the purpose of studying diet-microbiota interactions in human intervention and cohort studies. He holds a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark (2016) and a M.Sc.Eng. from the Technical University of Denmark (2012). He is a recipient of the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Drummond Early Career Scientist Award (2019), and received recently a prestigious Sapere Aude: DFF-Starting Grant (2020) to establish his own group at University of Copenhagen.