International Conference to Focus on the Impact of Food on Human Microbes and Health
Researchers will explore the link between food, the microbiome, and health, with a focus on increasing our understanding of how the food we eat influences the microbiome, and how harnessing this emerging knowledge could help to develop new therapeutics.
Published May 09, 2016
NEW YORK, May 9, 2016 — On May 10 - 12, the New York Academy of Sciences and the Quadram Institute will present Food-Microbiome Interaction: Implications for Health & Disease at The Royal Society in London. This international conference will explore recent trends and emerging findings in microbiome science, one of the most exciting new areas of biological research, where researchers are just starting to realize the vital contributions that microbial populations make to human health and disease.
"Recent data demonstrate that the food we eat influences the ecosystem of bacteria that inhabit the human body, collectively termed the microbiome. Dysregulation of this endemic microbiome has been implicated in a myriad of human diseases ranging from inflammatory bowel disease to depression," says Sonya Dougal, PhD, Director, Life Sciences, The New York Academy of Sciences.
The conference will cover the link between food, the microbiome, and healthy living (session 1), the establishment of the microbiome throughout development (session 2), the influence of the microbiome on physiology beyond the gut (session 3), and finally the therapeutic potential of targeting the microbiome (session 4).
"This event is bringing together world-class experts from a variety of different fields to the UK to discuss this rapidly emerging area of science and this is vital to make scientific progress. The conference provides an important platform to share knowledge and ideas and discuss future priorities for microbiome research, "comments Professor Ian Charles, Founding Director of the Quadram Institute, to be located at the Norwich Research Park.
Keynote speaker Jeffrey Gordon, MD, Washington University in St. Louis, will present a talk on "The Gut Microbiota and Childhood Undernutrition: Looking at Human Development From a Microbial Perspective" via Skype. John Bienenstock, CM, FRCPC, FRSC, McMaster University, will present a keynote talk on "Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis: How do Bacteria Communicate Functional Changes?"
For media inquiries about the conference or to arrange interviews with speakers, contact Andrew Chapple, IFR/Quadram Institute, +44 (0)7713 087883, or Diana Friedman, NYAS, +1-212-298-8645 or dfriedman@nyas.org.
About The Quadram Institute
The Quadram Institute is a new food and health research institute which aims to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health, food and disease. Located on the Norwich Research Park, the Quadram Institute will integrate research teams from the current Institute of Food Research (IFR) and University of East Anglia's (UEA) Faculty of Science and Norwich Medical School with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH) gastrointestinal endoscopy facility, in a new state-of-the-art building, due to be completed in 2018.
The Quadram Institute's mission is to develop solutions to worldwide challenges in human health, food and disease.
About The New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With more than 20,000 members in 100 countries around the world, the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy's core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org.