CI Webinar Series: Sharmila Mande, PhD
Gut Microbiome and Health
Sharmila Mande, PhD
Chief Scientist at TCS Research
Co-chairs & Moderators: Gordon Bacon (CEO, Pulse Canada) & Laurette Dubé (MCCHE)
The diversity of microbes that inhabit our body (called ‘human microbiome’) plays critical functional roles in maintaining our health. Studies have indicated that maximum microbial colonization occurs in the gastrointestinal tract (gut) where they form well knit ecosystems. An imbalance in gut microbiome has been associated with several diseases (e.g. diabetes, obesity, cancer etc.). Therefore, it is essential to understand the composition of a healthy gut in order to delineate the host-microbiome interactions. Our studies have shown that gut microbiome changes with nutritional status as well as lifestyle differences (rural and urban population). Further, our work on comparative global profiling of gut microbiome from eight nationalities also indicated influence of ethnicity, diet and age on the bacterial community structure.
Dietary intake is known to influence taxonomic composition of gut microbiota since some of the microorganisms are involved in assimilation of different types of nutrients. Such bacteria can utilize their enzymatic machinery to digest proteins, fats and carbohydrates which are indigestible by humans. Our analyses have shown that carbohydrate metabolizing capabilities of gut bacteria differ with geographies. The products obtained after carbohydrate digestion are consumed by other bacteria to biosynthesize beneficial short chain fatty acids. Further, studies have shown that protein metabolism and the following putrefaction by gut bacteria might be detrimental to health. These diet dependent intricate metabolic interactions within gut bacteria determine the composition of gut microbiome within an individual. Our analyses on the metabolic potential of the gut microbiome indicate interesting findings.
Some of the results obtained from our studies towards the understanding of the above mentioned aspects will be discussed during the webinar.
About the speaker
Her main areas of research include microbiome analytics, biomarker discovery for early diagnosis of diseases/disorders, algorithm development for analyzing large scale biological data and applying the same to understand human health.