NCCIH Research Blog

The human microbiome is the community of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that naturally live in and on our bodies. We at NCCIH are very excited to host three internationally renowned experts in spring 2019 who will lecture on the theme “Microbes in Our Gut: Emerging Insights on Health and Disease.” The lectures are part of NCCIH’s Integrative Medicine Research Lecture Series. All three events take place in Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10) on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and will be streamed live and archived on NIH Videocast and Facebook Live. All are welcome to attend, and no registration is needed.

The series focuses on specific components of the gut microbiome, and natural products of interest produced by these organisms that might confer health benefits. Natural products and their potential effects on health promotion and various clinical conditions are a priority research area for us, and we’re intrigued to see the research continue to grow and expand. Gut health, what affects it, and its potential connections with wellness and illness in other parts of the body are also of high public interest.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Brady’s lecture was rescheduled to June 26, 2019, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET.]
On Thursday, March 14, from 11 a.m. to noon ET, our inaugural speaker, Sean F. Brady, Ph.D., will present “Watch Where You Step, There Is New Chemistry Everywhere.”

Dr. Brady is Evnin and Tri-Institutional Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Genetically Encoded Small Molecules at The Rockefeller University, New York, NY. He notes that the characterization of biologically active small molecules (natural products) produced by easily cultured bacteria has been a rewarding avenue for identifying new therapeutics and gaining insights into how bacteria interact with the world around them. The traditional, pure culture-based approach to studying bacterial natural products, however, has provided access only to a small fraction of the diverse metabolites encoded by environmental microbiomes.

Dr. Brady has developed culture-independent methods to circumvent this discovery bottleneck. His main sources for study are the global soil microbiome (i.e., microorganisms in dirt from the earth), and metabolites encoded by the human microbiome. He will also discuss applying exciting tools now available to the search for new treatments, and to learning more about bacteria. Dr. Brady’s research funders include NCCIH.

We hope you’ll also consider joining us for the next two lectures (find out more on the series webpage):

May 9, 2019, 11 a.m. to noon ET
“Gut Microbes in a Disruptive Age”
Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, Ph.D.
Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health in the Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology, and Anthropology
Interim Director, New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

June 10, 2019, 11 a.m. to noon ET
“Bacteria Get on Your Nerves: How Bugs Modulate Pain and Immunity”
Isaac Chiu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Immunology
Harvard Medical School