An official website of the United States governmentPrecision Probiotic Therapies—Challenges and Opportunities
Date: April 26, 2022 to April 27, 2022
Virtual
Event Description
- View the executive summary [3.17 MB PDF]
- View the program book [6.3 MB PDF]
Probiotic interventions may potentially offer beneficial effects, such as alleviation of gastrointestinal symptoms; “strengthening” of the immune system; protection against infectious diseases; prevention of metabolic disorders; improved mental health; promotion of early development; and general well-being. However, one major challenge in assessing the effects of probiotic interventions has been the inconsistent results of clinical trials. We now have a better understanding of some of the biological and behavioral factors that might contribute to inconsistent outcomes from probiotic interventions (e.g., differences in gut microbiota, diet, age, and lifestyle). Innovative research approaches are needed to understand the contributions and interactions of these factors and to advance methods for their assessment. There is growing interest in the development of individualized microbial therapeutics for targeted interventions in the probiotics literature, but wide gaps in knowledge still need to be addressed.
The goals of this workshop are to: 1) identify gaps in our current understanding of the biology of the gut microbiota and of probiotics and 2) identify research questions and methodological challenges posed by those gaps. Knowledge developed through these activities will provide a critical foundation for future research efforts to develop “precision probiotic therapies.”
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Agenda
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
What are the current challenges in probiotic research?
10:00–10:05 a.m. | Welcome
- Barbara C. Sorkin, Ph.D., M.S., Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)
- Hye-Sook Kim, Ph.D., National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
10:05–10:10 a.m. | Opening remarks:
- Helene M. Langevin, M.D., Director, NCCIH
10:10–10:50 a.m. | Keynote:
- Jeffrey Gordon, M.D., Washington University in St. Louis. Microbiome-directed complementary foods for treating childhood undernutrition
10:50 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | Session One: Current challenges in clinical trials
Moderators:
- Gabriela Riscuta, M.D., M.S., C.N.S., National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- R. Dwayne Lunsford, Ph.D., National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Speakers:
- Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Ph.D., Duke University. Metabolome, genome, diet, and exposome: toward a precision medicine approach for probiotic therapies
- Daniel Merenstein, M.D., Georgetown University. Challenges in precision probiotic clinical trials: is it even possible?
- Mark Haupt, M.D., International Flavors & Fragrances. An introduction to the importance of investigational product manufacturing for probiotic intervention trials
Break
- Susan Lynch, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco. Probiotic clinical trials—an opportunity to move toward precision microbiome manipulation
- Sarkis Mazmanian, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology. Gut microbial metabolites in human and animal behavior
- Rajita Menon, Ph.D., Vedanta Biosciences. Opportunities and challenges in development of medicines based on defined bacterial consortia
1:30–2:00 p.m. | Lunch Break
2:00–5:30 p.m. | Session Two: Host-microbiome interactions in precision probiotic research
Moderators:
- Ashley Vargas, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D.N., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Frank A. Hamilton, M.D., M.P.H., M.A.C.G., A.G.A.F. (NIDDK)
Speakers:
- Justin Sonnenburg, Ph.D., Stanford University. Controlled engraftment and abundance of next-generation probiotic therapies
- Purna C. Kashyap, M.B.B.S., Mayo Clinic. Multiomics to mechanisms: the road to microbiome-driven precision medicine
- Gianna Hammer, Ph.D., Duke University. Keeping it “old school”—the influence of the microbiome on responses, regulation, and metabolic rewiring of long-lived, fetal-derived immune cells
- Jun Huh, Ph.D., Harvard University. Microbial metabolites of bile acids in controlling host immune cell function
- Amir Zarrinpar, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Diego. The microbiome and time: using engineered bacteria to understand microbiome-circadian relationships
Break
- Sharon M. Donovan, Ph.D., R.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Noninvasive interrogation of host-microbiome crosstalk in the human infant
- Steven D. Townsend, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University. Application of 2’‐fucosyl lactose in preventing intestinal injury
- Liping Zhao, Ph.D., Rutgers University. Reference-free and guild-based approach for discovering novel probiotic bacteria with ecological competency
- Andrew Goodman, Ph.D., Yale University. Microbiome contributions to drug metabolism
5:30–5:35 p.m. | Closing remarks and adjourn
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
What will be the next steps in precision probiotics?
10:00–10:05 a.m. | Welcome
- Barbara C. Sorkin, Ph.D., M.S. (ODS)
- Hye-Sook Kim, Ph.D. (NCCIH)
10:05–10:10 a.m. | Opening remarks:
- Joseph M. Betz, Ph.D., Acting Director, ODS
10:10–10:50 a.m. | Keynote:
- Gary Wu, M.D., University of Pennsylvania. The gut microbiome in IBD as a prototype for the opportunities and challenges in the development of precision probiotics: the next steps
10:50 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | Session Three: Next generation probiotics—new strain identification and development
Moderators:
- Padma Maruvada, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
- Ryan Ranallo, Ph.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Speakers:
- Julia Oh, Ph.D., The Jackson Laboratory. From metagenomes to therapeutics: the human skin microbiome
- June L. Round, Ph.D., University of Utah. Microbiota-immune interactions that promote intestinal health
- Jan Peter van Pijkeren, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison. Bioengineered probiotics to deliver therapeutics
Break
- Tami Lieberman, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Inferring in-human commensal biology by reconstructing within-person bacterial evolution
- Erwin G. Zoetendal, Ph.D., Wageningen University & Research. Novel probiotics from our microbiome
- Rustem F. Ismagilov, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology. Small intestine and microbes are central to human health, but understanding their role requires quantitative tools applied to human (not animal) samples
1:30–2:00 p.m. | Lunch Break
2:00–5:00 p.m. | Session Four: Emerging technologies for precision probiotics
Moderators:
- Mukesh Verma, Ph.D. (NCI)
- Terez Shea-Donohue, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
Speakers:
- Hyun Jung Kim, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin. A pathomimetic intestinal disease-on-a-chip for validating microbiome-based therapeutics
- Tom Van de Wiele, Ph.D., Ghent University. Personalization of human gut models to bridge knowledge gaps regarding interindividual variability in efficacy and mode of action of precision probiotics
- Noah Palm, Ph.D., Yale University. Mapping uncharted landscapes of host-microbiota connectivity
- Emily P. Balskus, Ph.D., Harvard University. Deciphering the human microbiome with chemistry
- Curtis Huttenhower, Ph.D., Harvard University. Probiotic bioactivity in the human microbiome
- Barbara Rehermann, M.D., NIDDK. Wild mouse microbiota and pathogens in preclinical research models
- Sameer Sonkusale, Ph.D., Tufts University. Lab-on-a-pill for spatially targeted sampling of gut microbiome
Break
5:00–5:10 p.m. | Closing remarks and adjourn
- Barbara C. Sorkin, Ph.D., M.S. (ODS)
- Hye-Sook Kim, Ph.D. (NCCIH)
Planning Committee
11 Participating National Institutes of Health Institutes, Centers, and Offices:
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)
- Office of Nutrition Research (ONR)
Co-chairs:
- Hye-Sook Kim, Ph.D. (NCCIH)
- Barbara C. Sorkin, Ph.D., M.S. (ODS)
- Joseph M. Betz, Ph.D. (ODS)
NIH Workshop Planning Committee Members:
- Wen Chen, Ph.D. (NCCIH)
- Roberto Flores, Ph.D., M.S., M.P.H. (ONR)
- Frank A. Hamilton, M.D., M.P.H., M.A.C.G., A.G.A.F. (NIDDK)
- David A. Jett, Ph.D. (NINDS)
- Li Lin, Ph.D. (NIAAA)
- R. Dwayne Lunsford, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
- Padma Maruvada, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
- Young Oh, Ph.D. (NHLBI)
- Ryan Ranallo, Ph.D. (NIAID)
- Gabriela Riscuta, M.D., M.S., C.N.S. (NCI)
- Terez Shea-Donohue, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
- Ashley Vargas, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D.N. (NICHD)
- Mukesh Verma, Ph.D. (NCI)
- Xin (Jean) Yuan, M.D., Ph.D. (NIA)
U.S. Department of Agriculture Workshop Planning Committee Member:
- Cindy D. Davis, Ph.D. (Human Nutrition, Agricultural Research Service)
Sign language interpreting services are available upon request. Individuals who need interpreting services and/or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should contact the NCCIH Clearinghouse at info@nccih.nih.gov or 1-888-644-6226 by Tuesday, April 19, 2022.