The Microbiome and IBD

Learn about the relationship between the microbiome and IBD, including research advancements into how gut bacteria respond to changes in their environment. Experts also discuss the use algorithms in an effort to predict disease state and drug effectiveness, as well as microbiota-based therapies for IBD.

Speaker:
Dr. Carolina Tropini (Ph.D., Eng.L.), is an Assistant Professor at The University of British Columbia in the School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Dr. Tropini’s interests are in medicine, microbial biophysics and engineering. Working in the field of the gut microbiota, she is applying novel tools to better understand the stability of microbial communities and their response to IBD. She is building a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between microbes and their hosts.

Dr. Tropini is also interested in teaching and outreach, particularly with the goal of building a common language between physicists and engineers, biologists and clinicians. She was a recipient of a 2019 Crohn's and Colitis Canada Grant-in-Aid Research Grant.

0:50 Our world (and us) are coated in microbes
1:19 COVID-19 aside…Infectious diseases are decreasing
1:43 Infectious diseases are decreasing but immune disorders are increasing
2:07 Who are these microbes that we are fighting off?
2:46 Our body is a microbial ecosystem
3:18 Why do we need a microbiota?
4:02 Our microbiota produces chemicals we can’t make
4:20 Our personalized pharmacy
5:44 How are we feeding our microbiota?
6:39 Evolutionary timescales
7:51 Changing our microbiota affects a multitude of conditions
8:32 Why haven’t we cured IBD?
9:46 The IBD microbiota exacerbates inflammation
11:53 Our goal: reduce inflammation. How can microbiota therapies help?
18:27 Microbes also affect us through bile acids metabolism
19:06 Secondary bile acids protect from inflammation
21:02 How does the microbiota change during disease?
21:16 Methods used to study the gut microbiota
21:43 A new integrative approach: sequencing + imaging
23:41 Malabsorption and diarrhea change the gut environment
25:19 Diarrhea creates a disrupted environment that can be exploited by pathogens
26:35 Diarrhea can cause long-term changes to the microbiome
27:35 Diarrhea alters microbiota composition
27:48 ~50% of microbiota disappears
28:20 An entire family of organisms disappear
28:42 New research indicates S24-7 is involved in immune-system regulation
29:01 We are currently investigating the importance of S24-7 during inflammation
29:12 Can we restore microbiota members lost during diarrhea?
29:25 Can reseeding occur after microbiota stabilizes?
30:00 Reseeding can occur after microbiota has been at steady-state for weeks
30:18 What are the requirements for recolonization?
30:23 Microbiota reprogramming requires a permissive physical environment
31:39 How does this fit with existing IBD therapies?
31:55 Our vision
32:42 Our microbiota: essential to our health
33:19 Friends, foes and other just-fine microbes in IBD
36:00 Question and Answer Period