Advancing Microbiome Research: Insights from the 4th Polepharma Microbiomics Days

Published: Nov 23, 2023 by FME Lab

The 4th edition of the Polepharma Microbiomics Days, presided over by Professor Pierre Dechelotte, Head of Nutrition at CHU de Rouen Normandie and part of the Inserm – University of Rouen Normandie Unit, recently concluded at the Kindarena in Rouen.

This prestigious event brought together nearly 100 stakeholders and decision-makers from the pharmaceutical industry to discuss the therapeutic potential of the microbiome. The event was structured around the theme of translational research and the applications of microbiota science, featuring a range of activities including keynotes, experience sharing, discussions, and a cocktail dinner evening.

A key session of the event, titled “The Evolution of Modeling and New Opportunities” featured an insightful presentation¹ by Julien on the ecological modeling of the microbiome using extensive data sets². His talk highlighted how large-scale data analysis can guide the development of personalized therapeutic and nutritional strategies, a significant step forward in microbial ecology.Following the session, there was a vibrant follow-up discussion with the audience, further delving into the nuances of ecological modeling and its implications for the future of healthcare.

Slides from Julien’s conference are available here: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04316201

Julien Tap. Branches and ecological states of the gut microbiome: Mapping for future personalized nutritional and therapeutic interventions. Journées Polepharma de Microbiomique, Polepharma, Nov 2023, Rouen, France. hal-04316201 ↩
Julien Tap, Franck Lejzerowicz, Aurélie Cotillard, Matthieu Pichaud, Daniel Mcdonald, et al.. Global branches and local states of the human gut microbiome define associations with environmental and intrinsic factors. Nature Communications, 2023, 14 (1), pp. 3310. 10.1038/s41467-023-38558-7 hal-04159501 ↩

A seed meeting between INRAE Micalis Institute and Imperial College London

Last week on October 3rd, scientists from Imperial College London (ICL) and from INRAE Micalis Institute were hosted by the French embassy in London for a seed meeting around synthetic biology and synthetic microbial ecology as scientific strategies for biotechnology and food production. A special thanks to the organizer: Ludovic Drouin (French Embassy), Young-Kyoung Park (Micalis) and Rodriguo Ledesma-Amaro (ICL). Our several groups with complementary research discussed about perspectives of future collaborations on the field together with Ferment du Futur or Bezos Centre.

School of Artificial Intelligence Applied to Microbiomes

Earlier this month, Julien had the pleasure of participating as a lecturer at the School of Artificial Intelligence Applied to Microbiomes, hosted at AgroParisTech and organized by Aristeidis Litos, Daniel Garza, and Ariane Bize. The event brought together an exceptional group of researchers and students exploring how AI, data science, and mathematical modeling are reshaping our understanding of microbial ecosystems.

Consumers at the core of fermented food innovation

Yesterday on September 23rd, about 100 participants from academia, industry, NGOs and policy makers across Europe had joined the second Stakeholder Forum of Horizon Europe #DominoEU project. Four speakers Pr. Jutta Roosen from the Technical Universty of Munich, Dr. Emmanuella Magriplis associate professor from the Agricultural University of Athens, Dr. Michail Syrpas associate professor at Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania and Dr. Nikoletta Vidra Science Manager at Yakult Europe altogether spotlighted the central role of consumer research in advancing the field of fermented foods.