PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series: What is a healthy gut microbiome and why is it important to know?

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.