Download 2017 PUERTO RICO PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL

2017 PUERTO RICO PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL MEETING
Microbiome, key to human health
Speakers:
Ivonne Huang,
Assistant Professor,
M.D.
Internal Medicine
Division of Pulmonary
& Critical Care
Medicine.
University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, MI
Christopher
Lowry,
Associate Professor,
Department of
Integrative Physiology,
University of Colorado,
Boulder, CO
Michael Bailey,
Ph.D.
Associate Professor,
Microbial
Infection/Immunity
Institute for Behavioral
Medicine Research
Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH
MICROBIOTA & ASTHMA
Her lab studies:

The respiratory microbiome in asthma
and COPD.
Differences between airway microbiome
between asthmatic patients and healthy
subjects and of studies of relationships
between environmental.
Microbiota, gut microbiota, immune
function and asthma development.


HOST –ASSOCIATED MICROBIOTA
AND MENTAL HEALTH
His lab studies:
 Neural mechanisms underlying stressrelated physiology and emotional
behavior with a focus on the role of
serotonergic systems.
 Relationships among MoRE (microbiome
of the built environment), hostassociated microbiota and mental
health.)
STRESS-MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION
INFECTION PROCESSES
His lab studies:
• Biological mechanisms that link
•
•
•
psychological factors to
responsiveness to infectious diseases.
Impact of the stress response on
colonic epithelial cells and lamina
propria leukocytes
Impact that the intestinal microbiota
has on the local mucosal immune
system.
How psychological stressors changes
the community structure of microbiota
in the intestines.
George
Weinstock,
Ph.D.
Professor, Evnin Family
Chair and Director of
Microbial Genomics
The Jackson Laboratory,
Farmington, CT
Filipa GodoyVitorino
Associate Professor,
Department of Biology
Interamerican
University,
Rio Piedras, Puerto
Rico
Abel Baerga-Ortiz,
Associate Professor
Department of
Biochemistry
University of Puerto Rico,
Medical Sciences Campus,
Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
NGS & METAGENOMIC ANALYSIS
His lab:
Uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) and
metagenomic (the collective genome of the
microbiome) analysis to generate cost—
effective DNA sequence information of human
microbiome in health and in clinical venues (in
infectious diseases).
Develops new diagnostic procedures
(cheaper, faster, more accurate) for infection
as well as microbiome-associated disease.
These methods will identify individuals at risk
for infection, the pathogens and the most
effective antibiotics to control the disease.
Microbial Ecologist with interest in the
functional role of the microbiome in influencing
natural/human ecosystem health. Current
areas of research include: 1) understanding
the correlation between HPV and the
cervicovaginal microbiome in Puerto Ricans
through omics technologies; 2)
Characterization of the rhizosphere
microbiome of Tabebuia heterophylla, a tree
native to the West Indies, in order to
understand how the microbes may contribute
to the plasticity of the tree and enable its
growth in poor nutrient, heavy-metal rich and
disturbed soils; 2) Mining for lignocellulose
carbohydrate-active enzymes in mangrove
ecosystems and herbivore GIT systems.
His research group has centered in developing
methods for the quick and inexpensive
detection of specific bacterial genes in stool
samples. As part of this effort, they have found
in human stool, a number of bacterial genes
that have been previously associated with
inflammation in other tissues such as kidney
and skin. The presence of these proinflammatory genes in the human gut and their
increased frequency in colorectal cancer
patients, suggest a possible link between
harboring these genes and the risk of cancer.
His laboratory is currently exploring possible
mechanisms by which these genes may promote
inflammation in the GI tract.
WHEN: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2017
WHERE: Salon Gonzalez-Gallardo, HURRA, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
SPONSORS:
Puerto Rico
PHYSIOLOGICAL
SOCIETY
QUICK FACTS








Microbiome (the vast collection of microbes in our body with which we
coexist),
This includes: microbes, including viruses, bacteria and fungi,
Microbes we host is unique to each individual
More than 70% of our microbes live in the colon.
Bacterial communities can dramatically affect an individual’s health through
modulating risk for obesity, colitis, asthma or allergies, or the risk for
developing specific types of cancer
The gut flora also makes many nutritional contributions, including breaking
down indigestible food and absorption of nutrients to producing vitamins and
amino acids.
Human microbiome can influence systemic inflammation, autoimmunity,
bloodbrain barrier function, neuroinflammation, cognitive function, and
emotional behavior.
Disrupting the microbiota has been shown to result in increased susceptibility
to intestinal diseases.