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PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series: Gut microbiome expert Prof. Eugene B. CHANG delivers lecture on 'What is a healthy gut microbiome and why is it important to know?'

PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series

Recap of DLS by Prof Eugene B Chang on 18 March 2024 1176 x 662 pxEN
  • Date

    18 Mar 2024

  • Organiser

    PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research

  • Time

    16:15 - 17:45

  • Venue

    Hybrid (Senate Room, M1603, 16/F Li Ka Shing Tower, PolyU / Online via Zoom)  

Speaker

Prof. Eugene B. CHANG

Enquiry

PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research +852 3400 3036 info.pair@polyu.edu.hk

Summary

Prof. Eugene B. CHANG, Martin Boyer Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Microbiome Medicine Program at The University of Chicago, USA, delivered the 15th PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “What is a healthy gut microbiome and why is it important to know?” on 18 March 2024. The hybrid lecture attracted over 200 participants joining in person and online from more than 20 countries and regions across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. It was also broadcast live on multiple social media platforms, captivating an online viewing audience of over 10,900.

The lecture commenced with a welcome speech by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR, followed by a brief speaker introduction by Prof. WONG Ka-hing, Director of the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood).

In his presentation, Prof. Chang first gave some fun facts about the human gut microbiome and explained that it is a vital organ of the body. Next, he elaborated on the importance of understanding a healthy gut microbiome and keeping it healthy. Prof. Chang stated that it is comparatively easy to determine the health of a vital organ through different tests but not the gut microbiome. He pointed out the limitations of the traditional 16S rDNA and metagenomics as metrics to assess the state of gut microbiota health. He then outlined the desirable features for assessing gut microbiome health and introduced the modified targeted mass spectrometry method. The technique combines 20 markers of gut microbial functions into a single score. This enables an understanding of the quantitative functional profiles of gut microbiome health and can be applied in clinical settings to help patients to restore gut microbiome health. Prof. Chang further explained how the assessment method can be used for maintaining the health of the gut microbiome, treating patients with dysbiosis, and making predictions about the clinical outcomes of therapies. To conclude, Prof. Chang shared that his team would join hands with research institutes, including RiFood, for research collaborations.

A question-and-answer session moderated by Dr Amber CHIOU Jiachi, Associate Director of RiFood, followed. The online and on-site audience engaged in a productive discussion with Prof. Chang.

 

 

20240318 PAIR DLS Prof Eugene CHANG 560 X 860

Prof. Eugene B. CHANG

Martin Boyer Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Director, Microbiome Medicine Program
Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery
The University of Chicago, USA

 

Prof. Eugene B. CHANG is the Martin Boyer Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Through the lens of the gut microbiome, Prof. Chang studies host-microbe interactions and disease mechanisms of the gut in states of health and disease (primarily IBD and metabolic disorders). To understand the mechanisms underlying these processes, his lab employs experimental, clinical, and bioinformatic (machine learning and artificial intelligence) approaches to define specific mechanisms of action and biomarkers relevant to the intestinal epithelial, immune and metabolic homeostasis. He was an active participant in the NIH Human Microbiome Project and currently holds several NIH grants that involve team science collaborations with colleagues from multi-disciplinary backgrounds. Prof. Chang has been the Director for over two decades of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney (NIDDK) P30 Digestive Disease Research Core Center (DDRCC), member of the NIH National Commission on Digestive Diseases, the NIDDK Council, recipient of the NIH MERIT award, Director of the IBD Research Laboratories, past-President of the Gastroenterology Research Group, Chairman of the AGA council, several terms on the governing board of the American Gastroenterological Association, the NIDDK advisory council, and Director of the University of Chicago Microbiome Medicine Program. He has an extensive record of successful mentorship over 4 decades as the PI and program director of a NIH training grant (T32) in Digestive Health and Diseases, developer of the Academic Skills Workshop that is now part of the educational portfolio of the American Gastroenterological Association, life-time Master of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators at the University of Chicago, and recipient of numerous mentorship and teaching awards. His works have been published in prominent journals including Nature, Cell, and Science.

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