Episode 4: Microbiome

Host and Health: Tailoring Personalized Medicine Using The Unique Microbiome Fingerprint 

Professor Eran Elinav from the Weizmann Institute of Science discusses how the interaction between the microbiome and its host is transforming personalized medicine.

 

“I believe that in the next five to ten years, exploiting the potential of the microbiome will be central to personalized and precision medicine,” explains Eran Elinav. His research into this second genome in the human body at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Isreal is shedding light on how these trillions of cells function and interact with their host. The individualized data from the unique microbiome fingerprint can be harnessed to tailor nutritional therapies to improve metabolic functions in the treatment of, for example, obesity and type 2 diabetes—with a wide range of further potential applications. And even small molecules found within the microbiome could themselves be developed into drugs. The future hope lies in the inherent therapeutic translatability of these insights from host-microbiome interaction research into treating the whole spectrum of metabolic diseases.

 

Curious to Know More?

Listen to the conversation between Lonza’s Martina Hestericová and Weizmann Institute of Science Professor and researcher Eran Elinav in this special episode of the "A View On" podcast.

KEY TERMS IN CONTEXT:

Genome: All of the genetic information of an organism. When speaking about the microbiome, it refers to an entirely different organism that is comprised of its own genetic makeup from the host—the interaction between the two genomes is the subject of study known as host-microbiome interaction.

Microbiome: The extremely diverse ecosystem of hundreds, sometimes thousands of different species of microbes found in and on the human body. Microbial biodiversity is key to a healthy microbiome and a poor microbiome is linked to diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, cancer and possibly some central nervous disorders.

Therapeutic translatability: The ability to translate or apply basic research into therapies for the benefit of humans. As we understand more how the complex microbiome works, Professor Elinav asserts that these insights translate directly into ways to manipulate it and improve health.

Personalised or Precision Medicine: A general trend to adapt treatments to individuals instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. In the context of host-microbiome research, as the microbiome is unique to each individual, it could hold the keys to specialized treatments by harnessing the individualized data.