Microbiome & Health

We study the factors that shape the microbiome, the functional potential and metabolism of the microbiome, host-microbiome interactions, and the effect of microbiota interventions. The focus area brings together a variety of researchers: clinical specialists, microbiologists, immunologists, and computational researchers. Studies include development and validation of bioinformatic and statistical analysis tools; multi-omics analysis of well-defined cohorts and randomized studies; large-scale cross-study comparisons (meta-analyses); and finally, intervention studies in volunteers (colonization studies) and patients using prebiotics, live biotherapeutic products and fecal microbiota transplantation. Our mission is to unravel the interplay between the microbiome and human health, and use this understanding to improve health, minimize disease and optimize treatment success.

This focus area is led by dr. Joffrey van Prehn, dr. Liz Terveer and prof.dr. Georg Zeller.