Dr. Jack Gilbert

Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Scripps Instituion of Oceanography
University of California San Diego

Therapeutics and Diagnostics: The Next Phase of Microbiome Research

The human microbiome is quickly being recognized as a dynamic part of the human ecosystem, and research is starting to demonstrate that using ecology to understand this ecosystem has profound benefits for patient wellness. The immune system controls our interaction with the microbial world, and yet the microbial communities in our bodies are central to modulating the immune response. Changes in the human microbiome have substantial influence on atopy, neurological disorders, metabolic disorders, and a range of complex conditions and disease states. We will discuss evidence of these mechanisms of interaction and how we have started to disturb the delicate balance of the immune-microbe equilibrium, impacting the development and function of our immune systems. Applying new strategies to identify how the microbial ecosystem correlates with diseases states and treatment efficacy through Microbiome-Wide Association Studies (MWAS) is altering the trajectory of precision medicine, and providing a new framework for facilitating patient care. However, to date there are still no FDA approved microbiome related therapies, pointing to concerns about over-promising of microbiome as a real treatment strategy. There is considerable concern about the need to move beyond studies that identify correlations between the microbiome and disease, toward intervention trials that will actually explore specific mechanistic relationships. It truly is time to start delivering on the promise of the microbiome.

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Dr. Nikhil Thomas

Associate Professor
Dalhousie University
Departments of Microbiology and Immunology & Medicine (Div. Infectious Diseases)

A DNA cruciform acts to regulate virulence gene expression in pandemic Vibrio species

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Experimental Medicine Field Seminar

Speaker: Craig Harness
PhD Candidate, Experimental Medicine Exit Seminar

Using a Complex Approach to Human Dissection in Postgraduate Education of Physical Manipulation

Effective immediately, all PhD Oral Examinations will be OPEN.  The examination may be switched to CLOSED for substantive reasons only, such as protection of sensitive data or major disability issues.  If a student wishes to have a CLOSED examination, they must apply to the Associate Dean of Graduate Students (Dr. Kim McAuley) for permission.

All PhD examinations in DBMS will be announced on the DBMS website, in addition to the Gazette.  Students are encouraged to attend theses examinations in order to gather an understanding of the process and to support their peers.

Room bookings do not need to take into consideration the audience size.  It is up to the Chair to decide how many bodies the room may accommodate at the time of the examination.  All audience members will be asked to vacate the room when the Candidate is asked to leave so that the confidential nature of the examiners’ discussion can be maintained.

Students undergoing MSc Oral Examinations are encouraged to consider an OPEN format, but should consult with their supervisor and may decide upon a CLOSED format without any penalty.  All examinations will be announced on the DBMS website.