the human microbiome: time for effective...
TRANSCRIPT
The Human Microbiome: Time for Effective Translation
March 29-30, 2018
California NanoSystems Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles
About French American Innovation Days
French-American Innovation Days are events organized by the Office for Science and Technology of the
Embassy of France in the United States. They are high-level events where researchers and companies have the
opportunity to exchange views on a specific technological issue, start co-operative activities and develop business
transactions with a transatlantic perspective.
The goal of the program is to facilitate the development of innovation ties between France and America by bringing together
scientists, companies and other interested stakeholders from both countries.
The first FAID to be held in Los Angeles is entitled “The Human Microbiome: Time for Effective Translation”.
Microbiome research has developed exponentially in recent years and is moving from a descriptive state to one where
causality is now being examined. At the same time, almost all major pharmaceutical or nutrition companies, and a huge
number of start-ups, have invested in this field. Altogether, this is a very appropriate timing for the Los Angeles FAID
that aims to bring together scientists and companies to discuss effective translation.
Organizers
The Office for Science and Technology (OST), a team of 24 staff
members including professors, senior researchers and engineers
located in the Embassy (Washington, DC) and 6 consular offices
(Atlanta - Boston - Chicago - Houston - Los Angeles - San Francisco)
is dedicated to bilateral French-American collaborations in Science
and Technology.
The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) is an integrated
research center whose mission is to create a collaborative, closely-
integrated and strongly interacted environment that will foster
innovation in nanosystems research and education and bring scientific
and technological innovation into the economy and society.
Our Sponsors
Danone’s mission is to “bring health through food to as many people as
possible.” by helping people to adopt healthier choices and lifestyles, caring
about the health and well-being of its company and employees, of the
communities it serves, of the planet, and of current and future generations.
The Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale is a French
public research institution focused on human health and medical research.
Abbott is dedicated to translating science into lasting contributions to health
through diverse products that encircle life, from newborns to aging adults, from
nutrition, and diagnostics through medical care and pharmaceutical therapy.
Boehringer Ingelheim is a research-driven pharmaceutical company that
creates innovative medicines for the areas of human pharmaceuticals, animal
health, and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing.
Pfizer is a pharmaceutical company which seeks to make the best use of its
partnerships with non-profits, governments, and foundations in order to
identify and allocate the most important resources to underserved communities
around the world.
Microbiome Labs is an organization focused on providing probiotic
bacteriotherapy. Their goal is to provide the public with integrative solutions
and clinical research data to address digestive and immune health issues.
Kellogg’s is an American multinational food manufacturing company that
produces cereal and convenience foods. Their products are manufactured in 18
countries and marketed in over 180 countries.
Knobbe Martens is an agent of innovation, providing clients worldwide with
forward-focused Intellectual Property and Technology law service and
representation. They are one of the largest and fastest-growing IP law firms,
with more than 300 attorneys and scientists representing the complete spectrum
of technologies and IP practice areas.
Scientific Organizers
Pascale Cossart
Pascale Cossart, after studying chemistry in Lille (France) obtained a master degree at Georgetown
University, Washington, DC. Back in France, she obtained her PhD in Paris in the Institut Pasteur
where she is still now, heading the « Bacteria-Cell Interactions » unit which is also an Inserm and an
INRA unit. After studying DNA-protein interactions, she started to study the molecular and cellular
basis of infections by intracellular bacteria taking as a model the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.
Her research has led to new concepts in infection biology but also in microbiology, cell biology and
epigenetics.
Pascale Cossart is considered as a pioneer in Cellular Microbiology. Her contributions have been recognized by a
number of international awards, including the Robert Koch Prize (2007), the Louis Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2008), the
Balzan Prize (2013). She is a member of the French Academy of Science (2002), a foreign member of the American National
Academy of Science (NAS) (2009), of the German Leopoldina (2001), of the Royal Society (2010), and of the American
National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2014).
Jeff Miller
Jeff F. Miller, Ph.D., studies molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and the evolution of
functional diversity in bacteria and phage. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Case
Western Reserve University and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Tufts Univ. School of Medicine.
After postdoctoral training with Dr. Stanley Falkow at Stanford, he joined the faculty at UCLA in
1990. From 2002-2014 he held the M. Philip Davis Chair in Microbiology and Immunology and served
as Chairman of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics. In November,
2014, he was appointed as the Fred Kavli Endowed Chair in NanoSystems Sciences and Director of the
California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. In 2004, Dr. Miller co-founded AvidBiotics Corp., a biotherapeutics company
in South San Francisco. In 2009 he was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the National
Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and he is a voting member of the Board. From 2008-2010 he was Chair of the
General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and from 2012-2014 he served as President of ASM,
which represents 40,000 members in the US and abroad. Dr. Miller is a former Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, a
member of the American Academy of Microbiology, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and in April, 2015 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences
Jean Rosenbaum
Jean Rosenbaum joined the Office for Science and Technology of the French Embassy in Washington
in September, 2016 as Scientific Attaché specialized in Life Sciences. His office is based in the French
Consulate in Los Angeles, California.
Before occupying this position, he was trained as a Medical Doctor, then worked as a research scientist
for the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm, France). His first appointment was
in the Paris area (Créteil, 1990-1995). Then in 1995, he moved to Bordeaux where he became the head
of an Inserm laboratory (1995-2016). He was also the Director of the Department of Life Sciences and
Health of the University of Bordeaux (2015-2016) and worked as scientific officer at the French High Council for the
Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES, 2011-2016).
Jean Rosenbaum’s research dealt mostly with liver diseases. He contributed to over 120 scientific publications.
Agenda
Day 1 – March 29, 2018
8:00 AM Welcome breakfast
8:30 AM Opening remarks
Christophe Lemoine, Consul General of France in Los Angeles
Minh-Hà Pham, Counselor for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States,
Washington DC
Jeff Miller, Director of the California NanoSystems Institute, UCLA
8:45 AM Keynote lecture: Sarkis Mazmanian, California Institute of Technology – Introduced by Pascale Cossart
“Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Session I: Microbiomes & host physiology Moderator: Suzanne Devkota, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
9:30 AM Serguei Fetissov, Inserm-Université de Rouen, co-founder of TargEDys SA, France
“Gut Bacteria and Host Feeding Behavior”
10:00 AM François Leulier, Lyon Functional Genomics Institute, CNRS-ENS-INRA-Université Claude Bernard, France
“The Microbiome and Linear Growth Promotion: Lessons from Gnotobiotic Animal Models”
10:30 AM Coffee Break - Poster viewing - Networking
Session II: Immunity, inflammation & pathogen resistance Moderator: Suzanne Devkota, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
11:00 AM Yasmine Belkaid, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda
“Control of Skin Immunity and Inflammation by the Microbiota”
11:30 AM Pascale Cossart, Pasteur Institute-Inserm-INRA, France
“Intestinal Microbiota and Infection: the Listeria Paradigm”
12:00 PM Eric Pamer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New-York
“Microbiota-mediated Defense Against Intestinal Infection”
12:30 PM Lunch-Poster viewing- Networking
Session III: Microbiome-associated diseases & therapeutic targets
Moderator: Jonathan Braun, UCLA
02:00 PM Karine Clément, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital-Sorbonne University-Inserm, France
“Acting on Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Diseases: Why, for Whom, What and When”
02:30 PM Elaine Hsiao, University of California, Los Angeles
“Microbiome-Nervous System Interactions in Health and Disease”
03:00 PM Harry Sokol, MICALIS, INRA, France
“Dangerous Liaisons Between Gene and Microbiota: the Example of Card9 in IBD”
03:30 PM Kerwyn C Huang, Stanford University
“Resilience of the Gut Microbiota to Perturbations”
04:00 PM Coffee Break - Poster viewing – Networking
Special Topic Moderator: Minh-Hà Pham, Counselor for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States
04:20 PM Sandrine Miller-Montgomery, Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California San Diego
“The Center for Microbiome Innovation of UCSD”
04:35 PM Evelyne Jouvin-Marche, Inserm, France
“Inserm Transversal Program on Microbiota : The intestinal ecosystem, a key determinant in health and disease”
04:50 PM Marion Leclerc, INRA, France
“Microbiomes, food system and health. Science and opportunities at the French National Institute for Agronomy
Research (INRA)” Round Table
Moderator: Emeran Mayer, UCLA
05:00 PM Addressing the Barriers to Translation from Basic Research to Medicine
Participants:
- Miguel Freitas, Vice-President Scientific Affairs Danone North America
- Andrew Ritter, Ritter Pharmaceuticals
- Serguei Fetissov, Inserm-Université de Rouen, co-founder of TargEDys SA, France
- Momo Vuyisich, Viome
- Priscilla Kelly, Biomedicine Editor at the Science Journal
06:00 PM Reception (CNSI lobby)
Day 2 – March 30, 2018
08:00 AM Welcome breakfast
08:30 AM Keynote Lecture: Rodolphe Clerval, Enterome Bioscience, Paris-Boston – Introduced by Jeff Miller
“Mining the gut microbiome: a new source of targets and small molecules for treating chronical disorders”
Session IV: Understanding microbial communities & their products
Moderator: Pascale Cossart, Pasteur Institute-Inserm-INRA, France
09:15 AM Jeff Miller, California NanoSystems Institute, University of California Los Angeles
“Diversity-Generating Retroelements in Phage, Microbes and Microbiomes”
09:45 AM Marcelo Freire, J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla
“Oral Microbiome-Host Communications in Health and Disease”
10:15 AM Pieter Dorrestein, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego
“3D Surface and Volume Digitization of the Chemical World of the Microbiome”
10:45 AM Coffee Break – Poster viewing – Networking
Session V: Short talks / pitches by start-up companies
11:15 AM Moderators: Miguel Freitas, Danone North America & Jean Rosenbaum, Consulate General of France in Los Angeles
Adham Aljahmi, Blue Turtle Bio Jeanette Mucha, Sci Bac
Stéphanie Culler, Perspephone Biome Jack Oswald, Isothrive
Iryna Dzieciuch, Omnibiome Srinivas Rao, Axial Biotherapeutics
Kiran Krishnan, Microbiome Labs Lada Rasochova, Dermala Inc
Mark Wilson, MatriSys Bioscience
Session VI: Engineering microbiomes
Moderator: Ebrahim Zandi, USC
12:15 PM David Bikard, Eligo Bioscience & Pasteur Institute, France
“CRISPR Tools to Study and Control Bacteria”
12:45 PM Emma Taylor, Naked Biome, San Francisco
“Challenges in Microbiome Drug Development”
13:15 PM Conclusions
13:30 PM End of meeting, Lunch
Faculty (by alphabetical order)
Full biographies available on our website: http://faid-losangeles.france-science.org/
Yasmine Belkaid - Senior Investigator, Mucosal Immunology Section - NIH
Dr. Yasmine Belkaid is a Senior Scientist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and an
Adjunct Professor in the department of Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently the chief of the
Mucosal Immunology section and Director of the NIAID Microbiome program. Her work explores mechanisms that
regulate host immune responses to microbes at barrier sites such as the gut and the skin and revealed key roles for the
microbiota and dietary factors in the control of immunity and inflammation.
David Bikard - Head of Lab at Pasteur Institute - Founder at Eligo Bioscience
David Bikard, PhD, is a young investigator at the Pasteur Institute in the department of Microbiology where he started
his group in 2014. He is interested in applying engineering principles to better understand and fight pathogenic bacteria.
He is a co-founder of Eligo Bioscience.
Karine Clément - Professor of Nutrition - Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital-Sorbonne University-Inserm
Karine Clément is a Full Professor of Nutrition, Nutrition department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and at Sorbonne
University in Paris. Her team is currently exploring the link between environment changes, immune systemic changes
and functional modifications in the adipose tissue.
Rodolphe Clerval - Chief Business Officer - VP US Operations - Enterome Bioscience
Before joining Enterome, Rodolphe Clerval was VP Corporate and Business Development of TcLand Expression, a
molecular diagnostic company. Previously he was Business Development Manager at Genzyme and financial analyst for
the brokerage firm Natixis Bleichroeder. Earlier in his career, Rodolphe Clerval served as Research Scientist at Aventis
Animal Nutrition.
Pascale Cossart - Pasteur Institute - « Secrétaire Perpétuel » of the French Academy of Sciences
Pascale Cossart is the head of the « Bacteria-Cell Interactions » unit at the Pasteur Institute, which is also an Inserm and
an INRA unit. Her research has led to new concepts in infection biology but also in microbiology, in cell biology and in
epigenetics. She is a member of the French Academy of Science (2002), a foreign member of the American National
Academy of Science (NAS) (2009), of the German Leopoldina (2001), of the Royal Society (2010), and of the American
National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2014).
Pieter Dorrestein - Professor - UC San Diego
Pieter Dorrestein is Professor at the University of California – San Diego and the Director of the Collaborative Mass
Spectrometry Innovation Center and a Co-Director, Institute for Metabolomics Medicine in the Skaggs School of
Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Departments of Pharmacology and Pediatrics.
Serguei Fetissov - Professor of physiology - Rouen University-Inserm and co-founder of TargEDys SA, France
Sergueï O. Fetissov MD, PhD, is a Professor of physiology at Rouen University, France. The focus of his current research
is the identification of bacterial mimetic proteins of neuropeptides and peptide hormones involved in regulation of
motivated behavior as well as functional role of immunoglobulins cross-reactive with such peptides. He is a co-founder
of TargEDys, SA a company developing solutions for eating dysfunction and obesity based on the modulation of the
microbiome.
Marcelo Freire - Associate Professor - J. Craig Venter Institute
Marcelo Freire, DDS, PhD, DMSc, is an Associate Professor at J. Craig Venter Institute in the Department of Genomic
Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Freire’s research focuses on biological communications between host immune system
and microbiome. In particular, Freire’s expertise is in the host response to the oral microbiome in the context of chronic
inflammatory diseases.
Elaine Hsiao - Assistant Professor - UCLA
Dr. Elaine Y. Hsiao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology at UCLA, where
she leads a laboratory studying fundamental interactions between the microbiome, brain and behavior, and their
applications to neurological disorders.
Kerwyn C. Huang – Associate Professor – Stanford University
Kerwyn C Huang’s lab is currently situated in the departments of Bioengineering and Microbiology and Immunology
at Stanford, and his current interests include cell division, membrane organization, cell wall biogenesis, and collective
motility of bacterial communities.
Evelyne Jouvin Marche – Director of research - Inserm
Evelyne Jouvin Marche, Ph.D, Director of research at Inserm, has developed fundamental and translational research
focused on the role of immune cells. She is the Deputy Director of the multi-organization thematic institute
“Immunology, Inflammation, Infectious Disease and Microbiology”.
Marion Leclerc – Team leader - INRA
Marion Leclerc works for INRA microbiology department strategy and is a scientific advisor for INRAScience for Food
and Bioproduct Engineering. In their new INRA team, Phylogeny and Physiology of the Human Microbiome, Marion
Leclerc and Patricia Lepage combine omics and anaerobic microbiology to unravel the functionalities of the human
microbiota, in clinical (Immunotherapy, CD) or nutritional context (Fiber, Food structure).
François Leulier - Lyon Functional Genomics Institute, CNRS-ENS-INRA-Université Claude Bernard
François Leulier is a geneticist by training. The Leulier lab is currently developing research programs in bacteriology and
animal physiology and nutrition to decipher the functional interplays between the intestinal microbiota, lactobacillus
strains and chronic undernutrition and their influence on juvenile growth dynamics (including wasting and stunting).
Emeran Mayer – Executive Director - G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience
Emeran A Mayer is a Gastroenterologist, Neuroscientist and Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Physiology and
Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In addition to his ongoing research in chronic visceral pain,
his most recent work in the area of brain gut interactions has focused on the role of the gut microbiota in influencing
different aspects of the brain gut axis, including food addiction in obesity, and gastrointestinal symptoms in functional
and inflammatory bowel disorders.
Sarkis Mazmanian - Professor of Microbiology - California Institute of Technology
Sarkis K. Mazmanian, PhD, is the Luis and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology and
Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and an Investigator of the Heritage Medical
Research Institute. Dr. Mazmanian’s laboratory focuses on the study of beneficial bacterial molecules from the human
gut microbiome as novel therapies for immunologic and neurologic disorders, with a specific focus on developing
probiotic treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, autism and Parkinson’s disease.
Jeff F. Miller - Director - CNSI
Jeff F. Miller, Ph.D., studies molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and the evolution of functional diversity
in bacteria and phage. Miller is a former Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, a member of the American Academy
of Microbiology, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in April, 2015 he was
elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences.
Sandrine Miller-Montgomery - Executive Director - Center for Microbiome Innovation – University of California San Diego
Dr. Sandrine Miller-Montgomery is the Executive Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation, led by Pr. Rob
Knight at UC San Diego. In this position, she is leading a team focused on fostering and expanding industry and
academic collaborations, with the mission of accelerating Microbiome discovery and creating innovative
technologies that will support this emerging but exploding field in the consumer world as well as enabling major
clinical breakthroughs.
Eric Pamer - Head, Division of Subspecialty Medicine - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Eric G. Pamer, MD is the Head of the Division of Subspecialty Medicine, Enid A. Haupt Chair in Clinical
Investigation and Director of the Lucille Castori Center for Microbes, Inflammation & Cancer at Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).
Harry Sokol - Professor of Gastroenterology - Sorbonne University-Inserm-INRA
Harry Sokol is a Professor of Gastroenterology and is the head of the Gut Microbiota and Immunity lab (Inserm
U1157/UMR CNRS 7203, UPMC, Paris and INRA Micalis). Harry Sokol is an internationally recognized expert in
IBD and in gut microbiota fields. Harry Sokol is now exploring particularly the role of the microbiota in tryptophan
metabolism for which he is recipient of an ERC starting grant.
Emma Taylor - CEO & Co-founder - Naked Biome
Dr. Emma Taylor is a board-certified Dermatologist and Dermatopathologist. She completed her residency and
fellowship training at UCLA and stayed on as an assistant professor of Dermatology and Dermatopathology, when
she co-founded Naked Biome. She is also an inventor of 2 published patents, Emma Taylor has published in notable
journals such as Nature and the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and is the author on more than 40
book chapters.
Abstracts (in the order of the program)
Sarkis Mazmanian
Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Autism Spectrum Disorder
Commensal bacteria influence a variety of complex behaviors, including social, emotional and anxiety-like
behaviors, and contribute to brain development in mice and neuronal activation in humans. However, specific connections
between the gut and the brain that impact neurologic function remain poorly described. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
is a neurodevelopmental disease that affects 1 million children and their families, and is characterized by 3 cardinal
symptoms: repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, impaired communication, and abnormal social interactions. The incidence
of autism has increased at an alarming rate in recent decades, suggesting a possible role for the environment and making
ASD one of the most significant medical and social burdens of our time. Intriguingly, studies report that children with
autism exhibit dysbiosis of the gut microbiome. Using a validated mouse model that displays the 3 core symptoms of ASD,
we show that animals with behavioral deficits also display an altered gut microbiome and increased intestinal permeability,
similar to features reported in humans. Remarkably, treatment with a specific member of the human microbiome reduces
ASD-related anxiety and improves communicative, stereotyped and sensorimotor abnormalities. Consistent with the role
of gut microbes in regulating intestinal permeability and metabolic homeostasis, we show that probiotic treatment corrects
altered metabolite profiles of “autistic” mice. In a proof-of concept test, we reveal that injection of one identified metabolite
into naïve mice is sufficient to induce anxiety-like behavior. Further, we demonstrate that transplant of gut microbiota from
children with ASD into mice is sufficient to transfer core behaviors of autism. These data suggest that microbiome-
regulated metabolomic changes contribute to behavioral abnormalities. We propose the provocative concept that ASD may
be, at its core, a disease of the gut that manifests in altered behaviors partially mediated by bacterial metabolites.
Serguei Fetissov
Gut Bacteria and Host Feeding Behavior
Feeding behavior is driven by visceral feelings of hunger and satiety. Their daily changes follow the stable rhythms
consisting of about 20 min of satiation after beginning of a meal and 5 hours of satiety before feeling of hunger triggering
the onset of a next meal. The regularity of appetite changes is fundamental for structuring daily human activity. While
several hormonal and neuronal circuitries are known to regulate feeding behavior, recent data also support a fundamental
role for gut bacteria. In fact, when animals eat they also feed the numerous bacteria inhabiting their gastro-intestinal tract.
Such bacterial feeding occurs both immediately after nutrient ingestion as well as several hours later after the intestinal
transit of non-absorbed fibers. Indeed, as for the process of digestion, food intake triggers a pavlovian reflex of intestinal
secretion setting-up the timing of the hormonal and metabolic changes with resulting rhythms of feeding behavior.
Providing nutrients to bacteria triggers their growth which undergoes a specific dynamic under conditions of a regular
nutrient provision and rich bacterial density in a limited volume such as in the lower gut. These dynamics include an
immediate bacterial duplication lasting for 20 min before the onset of the bacterial stationary phase. E.coli grown in such
conditions, imitating the daily feeding rhythms in humans, produces bacterial proteins which reduce food intake and
activate intestinal satiety pathways, depending on bacterial growth phase. An independent from the host regulation of
bacterial growth dynamics, involving the quorum sensing, may underlie an orchestrating role of gut microbiota in the
specific alternation and duration of the host appetite cycles.
An important task is to understand molecular mechanisms linking the gut bacteria with the host pathways regulating
appetite and feeding behavior. One such molecular target has been identified in Enterobacteriaceae by linking these
common gut bacteria with the host melanocortin system, critically involved in the regulation of energy balance. Indeed, a
bacterial protein homologue of caseinolytic protease B (ClpB) has been identified as a conformational mimetic of α-
melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), an anorexigenic neuropeptide. E.coli ClpB is present in gut lumen and plasma
and is able to activate directly both intestinal and central satiety pathways, respectively. On the other hand, autoimmune
reaction against ClpB can be involved in the pathophysiology of eating disorders via production of IgG cross-reactive with
α-MSH. Thus, these findings reveal mechanisms linking specific gut bacteria with the host specific molecular pathways
regulating appetite in both normal and pathological conditions. Author proposes a new theoretical model of appetite control
integrating the energy needs of both the host and gut bacteria. These data are actively exploited by TargEDys SA, a start-
up company developing probiotic-based therapy for altered feeding behavior and body weight.
François Leulier
The Microbiome and Linear Growth Promotion: Lessons from Gnotobiotic Animal Models
The interaction that binds animals to their microbiota profoundly shapes many aspects of their biology. One such
aspect is linear growth at the juvenile stage, especially initiated by undernutrition. We aim to elucidate the mechanisms
that forge the beneficial interaction between the juvenile host and its gut microbiota. Using gnotobiotic flies and mice, we
have demonstrated the ability of selected lactobacilli strains to promote linear growth following chronic undernutrition.
These discoveries suggest that the still unknown molecular mechanisms underlying microbiota-mediated linear growth
promotion are likely conserved during evolution. We are now probing the mechanistic basis of such phenomena using
genetic approaches in Drosophila coupled to functional studies in monoxenic and conventional mice. We believe that this
basic knowledge carries a lot of potential for industrial applications and will pave the way for clinical studies that will
evaluate the potential of lactobacilli-based interventions to support child growth and health upon undernutrition.
Yasmine Belkaid
Control of Skin Immunity and Inflammation by the Microbiota
Pascale Cossart
Intestinal Microbiota and Infection: the Listeria Paradigm
Bacterial enteropathogens encounter in the intestine a number of microorganims that in various ways can protect
the host against the invading microbe. Listeria monocytogenes is a food borne pathogen which invades the intestinal
epithelium mainly at the level of the goblet cells. We have identified in Listeria genomes, genes encoding bacteriocins,
i.e. toxins that are active against bacteria. The first bacteriocin named LLS which is present in most epidemic strains is
poorly expressed in vitro but is highly expressed in vivo. Its presence is critical for oral infection and correlates with a
decrease in the amount of Allobaculum and Alloprevotella in the intestine but it is still unknown whether this effect is direct
or not. The second bacteriocin is expressed in the majority of clinical strains. Quite strikingly it targets
specifically Prevotella copri in both the mouse and the human gut microbiota. Expression of the bacteriocin lowers
infection, revealing for the first time an unsuspected role for Prevotella copri in exacerbating intestinal bacterial infection.
Eric Pamer
Microbiota-mediated Defense Against Intestinal Infection
Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria generally begin with colonization of mucosal surfaces, in
particular the intestinal epithelium. The intestinal microbiota provides resistance to infection with highly antibiotic-
resistant bacteria, including Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Clostridium difficile,
the major cause of hospitalization-associated diarrhea. Metagenomic sequencing of the murine and human microbiota
following treatment with different antibiotics is beginning to identify bacterial taxa that are associated with resistance to
VRE and C. difficile infection. We demonstrate that reintroduction of a diverse intestinal microbiota to densely VRE
colonized mice eliminates VRE from the intestinal tract. While oxygen-tolerant members of the microbiota are ineffective
at eliminating VRE, administration of obligate anaerobic commensal bacteria to mice results in a billion-fold reduction in
the density of intestinal VRE colonization. Recent studies have identified specific bacterial species, including Blautia
producta and Clostridium bolteae that prevent intestinal colonization with VRE. By treating mice with different antibiotics
that result in distinct microbiota changes and lead to varied susceptibility to C. difficile, we correlated loss of specific
bacterial taxa with development of infection. Using a workflow involving mouse models, clinical studies, metagenomic
analyses and mathematical modeling, we have identified a probiotic candidate that corrects a clinically relevant
microbiome deficiency. Our studies indicate that obligate anaerobic bacteria enable clearance of intestinal VRE
colonization and may provide novel approaches to prevent the spread of highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Karine Clément
Acting on Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Diseases: Why, for Whom, What and When
The high prevalence of metabolic disorders is a global health problem resulting in considerable health care costs.
Lifestyle changes are seen as cornerstones in the management of these tightly-linked but heterogeneous disorders that
progress over an individual’s lifetime. Some patients with metabolic disorders will progress rapidly toward complications
while others will progress more slowly.
The development and progression of metabolic diseases is linked to changes in a myriad of environmental factors
interacting with individuals’ genetic background and epigenetic factors. The gut microbiota is now viewed as a key player
at the interface between these environmental changes and host biology. These diseases are associated with reduced gut
microbiota diversity and modified composition, with an aggravation of dysbiosis with the progression of the disease,
particularly in the obesity context. Gut microbiota profile is also associated with specific dietary patterns and is modified
with dietary and therapeutic interventions (either medical or surgical) known to reduce cardiometabolic risks. These
interventions can improve gut microbiota diversity and richness together with the amelioration of metabolic and other
variables linked to low-grade inflammation.
Whether live microorganisms (i.e. probiotics) eventually combined with prebiotics can impact significantly gut microbiota
composition and may induce a beneficial and significant effect on human metabolism and inflammation is still an open
question. Moreover, which population or patient might benefit the most from these interventions impacting on the gut
microbiome must be determined. This presentation will examine whether modification of the microbiome can help in
improving metabolic health and if so, in which individuals.
Elaine Hsiao
Microbiome-Nervous System Interactions in Health and Disease
The gut microbiota is emerging as an important modulator of brain function and behavior, as several recent
discoveries reveal substantial effects of the microbiome on neurophysiology, neurogenesis, blood brain barrier
permeability, neuroimmunity, brain gene expression and animal behavior. Despite these findings supporting a
“microbiome-gut-brain axis”, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie interactions between the gut microbiota
and brain remain poorly understood. To uncover these, my laboratory and others are mining the human microbiota for
microbial modulators of host neuroactive molecules, investigating the impact of microbiota-immune system interactions
on neurodevelopment and examining the microbiome as an interface between gene-environment interactions in
neurological diseases. We aim to dissect biological circuits for communication between the gut microbiota and nervous
system, toward understanding fundamental biological pathways that influence brain and behavior.
Harry Sokol
Dangerous Liaisons Between Gene and Microbiota: the Example of Card9 in IBD
The pathogenesis of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is linked to an activation of the gastro-intestinal
immune system toward the gut microbiota in genetically susceptible hosts and under the influence of the environment. The
microbial community in the human gastrointestinal tract is fundamental to the health. Loss of the fragile equilibrium within
this complex ecosystem, termed dysbiosis, is involved in numerous pathologies, including IBD. Patients with IBD exhibit
an altered gut microbiota composition with a notable decrease in the abundance of anti-inflammatory bacteria such
as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. We also observed alteration in the fungal microbiota composition in these patients. The
association of several polymorphisms of innate immunity genes involved in microbial sensing with IBD is another
argument for the involvement of the gut microbiota in the IBD pathogenesis. Some genetic factors involved in IBD might
indeed act through a microbiota effect. We notably demonstrated that this is the case for the IBD susceptibility gene
CARD9. Based on its demonstrated role in IBD pathogenesis, the gut microbiota is now considered as a potential
therapeutic target and next generation probiotics as well as fecal microbiota transplantation are actively investigated.
Kerwyn C Huang
Resilience of the Gut Microbiota to Perturbations
The use of antibiotics to resolve bacterial infections has saved countless lives since the discovery of sulfa drugs
nearly a century ago. Unfortunately, the overzealous and often inappropriate prescription of antibiotics has led to a rise in
antibiotic resistance and has wide-ranging effects on the communities of commensal bacteria that live on and within the
host. Antibiotic perturbation alters the composition and function of these communities and increases susceptibility to future
infection, underscoring the need to design antibiotics that target pathogens and minimize damage to commensals. In
previous efforts to understand how antibiotics affect communities of commensal bacteria, antibiotic sensitivity has been
studied in pure cultures of individual bacteria grown in laboratory media. These in vitro results are not always mirrored in
studies of clinical and animal models, which comprise a body of literature that is in and of itself also contradictory and
inconsistent. Understanding the factors that underlie a bacteria’s response to antibiotics within a complex host-associated
community will require integration of in vitro and in vivo data and careful dissection of quantifiable aspects of the host
environment and community. We show that the gut microbiota has a robust response to antibiotic perturbation, even after
a massive 105-fold drop in bacterial load, showing recovery during antibiotic treatment in a housing-dependent manner.
The coarse-grained taxonomic kinetics of this recovery are relatively independent of the microbiota context, the antibiotic
target, multiple antibiotic treatments, or dietary shifts, although dietary shifts result in a much larger perturbation to the
bacterial load. We also show that the recovery is dominated by a few species, and the final state after stabilization exhibits
signs of substantial extinction that are not predictable based on in vitro growth in pure culture. These results highlight the
importance of community context in the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics by modulating the initial composition of the
microbiota in humanized mice through diet and multiple rounds of antibiotics.
Sandrine Miller-Montgomery
The Center for Microbiome Innovation of UCSD
In this presentation, we will be covering the many unique ways the UC San Diego Center for Microbiome
Innovation has been set-up in order to increase synergies between Academia and Industry in the field of microbiome.
We will highlight our structures, as well as share a couple of projects which showcase how our organization can
lead to a meaningful win-win partnership, where key performance indicators can be exceeded by both parties, despite being
widely different.
Evelyne Jouvin-Marche
Inserm transversal program on microbiota : The intestinal ecosystem, a key determinant in health and disease
The “Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)” has recently launched a new program named
“Programmes Transversaux “ to fund National research consortia in three major fields: “Microbiota”, “Ageing” and
“Variability of the genomes within cohorts”. This cutting- edge program has been built to facilitate interdisciplinary
approaches, to reinforce interfaces in biomedical research and to strengthen continuum towards economic development
and societal improvement. Thus, each program will result in an interdisciplinary National consortium, providing added
value compared to existing collaborations, particularly on specific areas of innovative research or technological
developments. The implementation of these national consortia should allow the French biomedical research to become a
key player in Europe in these fields and get the community ready for future calls.
Concerning, the research program dedicated to microbiota, the key challenges are to go beyond correlations, to demonstrate
causal effects and to identify molecular mechanisms in order to translate knowledge into diagnostic tools and rationale-
based therapeutic strategies. The Program is divided into three main Work Packages (WP). The first WP intends to develop
standardized metabolomics approaches to identify serum or tissue metabolites, derived from microbiota metabolism, which
may influence onset or severity of several diseases studied by members of the consortium. The second WP aims at getting
insight into functional intestinal ecology using innovative animal models, clinical trials or cohorts challenged by disrupting
factors such as antibiotics and food interventions. The third WP aims at developing therapeutic strategies in metabolic and
liver diseases, and will highlight the impact of bile salts metabolism in the outcome of host-microbiota interactions.
Marion Leclerc
Microbiomes, food system and health. Science and opportunities at the French National Institute for Agronomy Research
(INRA)
Rodolphe Clerval
Mining the gut microbiome: a new source of targets and small molecules for treating chronical disorders
Gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the building-up of our immunity system at birth. It is a life-long personal
and natural protection but increasing evidence suggests that dysregulated immune responses against commensal microbes
in the gut are strongly involved in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Oncology, Metabolic disorders, Depression, Allergies
amongst numerous diseases.
Our target and drug discovery platform is based on full sequencing and mapping of total fecal bacterial gene content that
leads to the characterization of the gut metagenome associated with a disease phenotype. This technology enables the
identification of genes and pathways of interest associated with the development of diseases. The metagenomics dataset
generated is then associated with a high throughput screening platform that allows the discovery of news drugs and targets.
Two lead programs were discovered through this platform :
EB8018 is an oral and non-systemic small molecule drug candidate that is designed to block FimH, a key virulence
factor expressed by pro-inflammatory Enterobacteria. EB8018 prevents colonization of gut wall, mucosal inflammatory
cytokine production and entry of such bacteria into the gut wall.
E0510 : this program aims to discover novel bacterial-derived cancer antigens that are expressed in human gut
microbiome. The first preclinical candidate (E02401) has demonstrated strong potency to induce T-cell activation
against solid tumors.
Enterome has entered clinical development stage, with EB8018 being currently evaluated in Crohn’s patients and E02401
will be tested in cancer patients in 2018.
Jeff Miller
Diversity-Generating Retroelements in Phage, Microbes and Microbiomes
Diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs) have evolved to increase host fitness by diversifying ligand-binding
domains of variable proteins in bacteria, archaea, and their viruses. DGRs function through a mutagenic retrohoming
mechanism in which an RNA intermediate serves as both the primer and template for a unique form of reverse transcriptase-
dependent cDNA synthesis in which adenines are specifically miscopied, producing adenine-mutagenized cDNA that
replaces parental sequences in genes that encode variable proteins. Naturally-occurring DGRs have the potential to generate
astronomical levels of diversity, corresponding in many cases to >1026 unique DNA sequences in diversified genes. DGRs
focus their vast mutagenic potential to evolve protein function by positioning variable nucleotides at sites that encode
solvent exposed resides in ligand-binding domains. We have discovered an enrichment of DGRs in prominent members of
the human microbiome, including numerous Bacteroides species. Bacteroides DGRs are encoded on distinct yet related
integrative and conjugative elements that undergo chromosomal excision and transfer in the GI tracts of gnotobiotic mice,
and recent evidence suggests they diversify a family of proteins that function as tip adhesins on a newly discovered pilus
family with highly modular components. Our results demonstrate the horizontal transfer of accelerated evolvability,
highlighting the dynamic nature of host-associated microbial communities.
Marcelo Freire
Oral Microbiome-Host Communications in Health and Disease
At the interface of oral tissues, the microbiome and immune crosstalk are very dynamic. Chronic inflammation in
the oral cavity is influenced by environmental changes, genomic and microbiome-immune interactions leading to dysbiosis
of oral tissues including, periodontal diseases, peri-implant conditions, caries, endodontic lesions and oral cancers.
Periodontal diseases are microbiome-induced inflammatory diseases with disruptions of tissues surrounding the tooth and
irreversible connective and bone tissue loss. This is aggravated when chronic systemic conditions are present as clusters
of inflammation, including type 2 diabetes. Unresolved inflammation is a key regulator of the initiation, progression, and
severity of periodontal diseases. This process is tightly regulated by a new genus of molecules called immunoresolvents
(e.g., resolvins, lipoxins, maresins and protectins). As pro-resolution molecules, immunoresolvents increase phagocytosis
of bacteria, clearance of dead cells and turn on signals to return to homeostasis. Metagenomic sequencing of human and
mice oral microbiota has revealed that P. gingivalis is an important pathobiont in different forms of periodontal and
equivalent per-implant dysbiosis. The next frontier of microbiome-host integration requires mechanistic studies to validate
and to understand the details of health and disease spectrum. We demonstrate that in a murine chronic inflammatory model
for type 2 diabetes (db/db) and periodontal diseases, P. gingivalis induced inflammation and tissue loss which is controlled
by the specific interaction of immunoresolvents and its cognate receptors present in innate immune cells. Using a workflow
of human, murine transcriptomic innate immune evaluations, we have identified g-protein receptor control of inflammation
and leading to tissue homeostasis. Also, imaging approaches guided understanding of the kinetics of local response to host-
microbial interactions in periodontal tissues. Our studies provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of periodontal
diseases and offer unique insights to therapeutic opportunities.
Pieter Dorrestein
3D Surface and Volume Digitization of the Chemical World of the Microbiome
David Bikard
CRISPR Tools to Study and Control Bacteria
Over the past few years CRISPR systems have been derived into powerful tools to edit genomes, control gene
expression, visualize nucleic acids in vivo, modify epigenetic marks, kill cells and more. Most of these tools rely on the
RNA-guided nuclease known as Cas9 which can be easily reprogrammed to bind and cut almost any position in a genome.
We focus on the application of these technologies to Bacteria. We have recently investigated the properties of Cas9 as well
as the catalytic dead variant known as dCas9 in E. coli. The introduction of double strand breaks by Cas9 at a specific
genomic position leads to cell death as such breaks cannot be repaired through homologous recombination, the main DNA
repair pathway in bacteria. We used this property as a selection tool in both E. coli and S. pneumoniae, and to develop
sequence-specific antimicrobials against S. aureus. Work on the dCas9 protein has revealed how it can be used to precisely
tune the expression level of several target genes independently and with low noise levels. Finally, the ability to knockdown
gene expression with dCas9 can also be used in high-throughput screens to unravel gene function and interaction. All in
all, CRISPR technology provides a fantastic toolkit to study and fight pathogenic bacteria.
Emma Taylor
Challenges in Microbiome Drug Development
Despite the overwhelming data that microbial therapies can impact clinical disease, evidenced by the success of
fecal microbiome transplants, translating these approaches into meaningful and reproducible therapeutic strategies remains
a challenge. There still remains an industry-wide dependence on antibiotics and there are many company-specific
challenges in working with live biologic material, namely relating to securing intellectual property, identifying optimal
candidate strains, developing a GMP manufacturing process, establishing a regulatory strategy, and designing clinical
trials. I hope to shed light on how our company, Naked Biome, has navigated many of these challenges in developing a
topical live biologic therapy for acne.
Start-ups presentation
Blue Turtle Bio is a therapeutic probiotic company focused on microbial enzyme
delivery for rare diseases. Their engineered microbe can be ingested by the patient
and would provide a timely release of said protein. This platform technology
would thus be an efficient alternative to current costly intravenous infusions.
Persephone Biome is developing live biotherapeutics to improve the efficacy of
cancer immunotherapy. Leveraging tools and experience in systems and synthetic
biology, they want to unravel the complexities of the microbial ecosystem in the
human gut; specifically, the interactions among microbes, checkpoint inhibitors,
and the human immune system will be elucidated. This knowledge will be used to
design and develop live biotherapeutics that will restore the functions needed to
ensure the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.
SciBac is a pre-clinical startup based near San Francisco, CA. They design live
biotherapeutics to target antibiotic resistant disease in the microbiome using their
DRIVE platform. DRIVE is a non-GMO platform technology that allows them to
mate different species of microbes together in a type of directed evolution. Their
first indication is for Clostridium difficile infection, a type of deadly diarrhea often
contracted in hospitals, and our second indication treats and prevents
Pseudomonas and non-tuberculous Mycobacterium infections in the lungs of
cystic fibrosis patients.
Axial Biotherapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company harnessing the link
between the human gut microbiome and the Central Nervous System (CNS) to
develop a new class of therapeutics to improve the quality of life for people with
CNS diseases and disorders. Axial’s scientific co-founder Sarkis K. Mazmanian,
Ph.D., and researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have
discovered a novel, causal-link between the gut microbiome and Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Axial’s scientific co-founder has
demonstrated that oral treatment of a mouse model of ASD with a human
commensal bacterial therapy corrects gut permeability, restores a healthy
microbial composition and ameliorates core behavioral symptoms of ASD. In a
PD mouse model, gut bacteria were shown to promote hallmark disease processes
including inflammation of the nervous system and motor dysfunction. These
findings suggest that targeting the gut microbiome using gut-selective therapies
may provide a new approach for treating ASD and PD.
Dermala Inc. is a consumer dermatology startup utilizing the human microbiome
and data to develop the next generation treatments for the most prevalent chronic
skin diseases and conditions.
OmniBiome, Inc. is the world’s first company focused on therapeutic / Rx
approaches to either utilize or intervene with the systemic effects of the vaginal,
lactal-duct and oral microbiomes for improving maternal healthcare and resulting
birth outcomes. The Company will focus initially on developing CLIA Dx
services for both pre-pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-associated conditions
or diseases where there is a substantive link with microbiome dys biosis
(disruption or imbalance), as well as on restoring eubiosis (proper balance). In
parallel OmniBiome will build a database of aggregated patient data that will later
inform development of Rx / therapeutic and medical device & drug-device
combination approaches for treating the same conditions or diseases.
Microbiome Labs was originally established as Physicians Exclusive in 2013 as
an organization focused on providing probiotic bacteriotherapy. In the past several
years their business model has grown and so has public awareness for gut health
issues. Their goal is to provide integrative solutions and clinical research data to
address indications that stem from digestive and immune health issues.
ISOThrive provides gastroenterologist recommended microFood that
nourishes specific bacteria in the gut to resolve imbalances that are at the root
of chronic health conditions. It is a lightly sweet nectar of non-digestible
soluble fiber called MIMOTM (maltosyl-iso-malto-oligosaccharides).
MatriSys Bio is a clinical stage Specialty Biopharmaceutical Company focused
on developing and commercializing rational microbiome therapies for the top five
dermatology and skin care conditions.
Posters presentation
P01- A novel method for accurate profiling of human microbiome using 16S amplicon sequencing
Authors: Igor Segota, Tao Long
Institution: Sanford Burnham Prebysterian Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA
P02- Curated Biobank of Preserved, Whole Human Fecal Samples, Sequences, Metagenomes, Metadata and
Bacterial Strains for Research and Development Authors: Raul J Cano, Naseer Sangwan and Martha Carlin
Institution: The BioCollective Inc., Denver, CO
P03- Microbiome and bile acid profiles in duodenal aspirates from cirrhotics vary by cirrhosis etiology, hepatic
encephalopathy, and ethnicity
Authors: Jonathan P. Jacobs1, Tien S. Dong1, Vatche Agopian1, Venu Lagishetty1, Vinay Sundaram2, Mazen
Noureddin2, Walid Ayoub2, Francisco Durazo1, Jihane Benhammou1, Pedram Enayati2, David Elashoff1, Marc T.
Goodman2, Joseph Pisegna1, Shehnaz Hussain1,2
Institutions: 1UCLA, 2Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
P04- Functionally characterizing bacterial protein homologs at large scales using multiplex gene synthesis
Authors: Calin Plesa, Angus M. Sidore, Nathan Lubock, Di Zhang, Sriram Kosuri
Institution: UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
P05- Microbiome shifts after daily HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
Authors: Michael P. Dubé, Sung Yong Park, Emily Johnson, Tanzy M. T. Love, Sheldon R. Morris, and Ha Youn Lee
Institutions: Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, University of Rochester,
Rochester, NY, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA.
P06- Bacterial uptake of serotonin regulates intestinal colonization of the indigenous gut bacterium, Turicibacter
sanguinis
Authors: Thomas C. Fung, Cristopher D. Garduno Luna, Helen E. Vuong, Anastasia Vavilina, Antoniya Aleksandrova,
Lucy R. Forrest, Elaine Y. Hsiao
Institution: Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
List of Participants (by alphabetical order)
Last Name First Name Affiliation
Ahn In Sook UCLA
Ahuja Umesh UCLA
Aljahmi Adham Blue Turtle Bio Inc.
Amaral Wellington UCLA
Angles Frederic The Scripps Research Institute
Archambeau Eric Quadia Impact Investing
Ballard Zachary UCLA
Bayne Tom Microbiome Labs
Belkaid Yasmine NIAID
Bentolila Laurent UCLA
Bikard David Eligo Bioscience
Birkett Anne Kellogg’s
Bortone Kara JLABS
Botelho Dinis Marcia UCLA
Braun Jonathan UCLA
Brown Calvin UCLA
Brubaker Linda UCSD
Caremoli Filippo UCLA
Casero David UCLA
Cauchy Tim USC
Cervino Alessandra Luxia Scientific
Ceylan Koydemir Hatice UCLA
Chen Lisa UCLA
Christey Peter GALT Inc.
Clément Karine Sorbonne-University/INSERM
Clerval Rodolphe Enterome
Cossart Pascale Pasteur Institute
Cozen Wendy USC
Cuff Callie UC Berkeley
Culler Stephanie Persephone Biome
Dai Lei UCLA
Degregori Samuel UCLA
Devkota Suzanne UCLA, Cedars-Sinai
DeVries Amber UCLA
Dhir Raja Seed
Diamante Graciel UCLA
Ding Ching JLABS
Ding Zhaoqing JLABS
Dong Tien UCLA
Dormant Valérie Medtronic
Dorrestein Pieter UCSD
Dubois Geraud IBM Research
Dubois Raphaël Consulate General of France
Dzieciuch Iryna Omnibiome
Erudaitius Anastassia UC Riverside
Erudaitius Dieanira UCSD
Faris Mary Pfizer
Fetissov Serguei University of Rouen Normandy
Fluke Dara CalState University Northridge
Freire Marcelo J. Craig Venter Institute
Freitas Miguel Danone
Fung Thomas UCLA
Gagnon Jeff Microbiome Labs
Giglio Laurence UCLA
Gonzalez Angel Zymo Research
Gruffaz Marion USC
Ha Connie Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Halec Gordana UCLA
Hambor John Boehringer Ingelheim
Hawkins Jr. Stewart UCLA
Hendrick Gustaf Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Henry Kurt Pepperdine University
Herman Dena UCLA
Hsiao Elaine UCLA
Huang Kerwyn C Stanford University
Hwang Loris UCLA
Ifkirne Rachid Biogaz Ecoconcept Valley
Jacobs Jonathan UCLA
Janiyani Kamala UCSD
Jee Noel Illumina Ventures
Jin Cathy Yan UCLA
Johnson Emily USC Keck School of Medicine
Johnson Neal UC Berkeley
Joshi Swapna UCLA
Juarez Betsy UC Irvine
Kalu Michelle UC Irvine
Karic Alda UCSF
Kazantsev Maria UCLA
Kelly Priscilla Science Journal
Kelly Denise Seventure Partners
Kim Dokyun USC
Knight Jamie UCSD
Koon Hon Wai UCLA
Krishnan Kiran Microbiome Labs
Kuhn Cyrille Boehringer Ingelheim
Lagishetty Venu UCLA
Lakritz Ania UCLA
Larauche Muriel UCLA
Leclerc Marion INRA
Lee Carol UCLA
Lee Ha Youn USC Keck School of Medicine
Lee Sungeun UCLA
Leulier François ENS de Lyon
Li Huiying UCLA
Li Rongsong UCLA
Lipman Arye BioBuilt Inc.
Liu Jing Knobbe Martens
Lo Richard USC Keck School of Medicine
Long Tao Sanford Burnham
Luethy Lauren ASM Journal
Luna Brian USC Keck School of Medicine
Lux Renate UCLA
Maiello Michelle JLABS
Maeusli Marlene USC
Martin Anthony Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Mayer Emeran UCLA
Mazmanian Sarkis Caltech
Mehrabian Margarete UCLA
Mercer Frances UCLA
Michels Karin UCLA
Miller Jeff UCLA
Miller Matthew UCLA
Miller-Montgomery Sandrine UCSD
Morin Manon UCSD
Moscicki Anna-Barbara UCLA
Mucha Jeanette SciBac
Nakamura Reine UCLA
Ngo Olivier Consulate General of France
Nguyen Jennifer UCLA
Nonaka Taichiro UCLA
Oberholzer Michael Illumina
Olson Christine UCLA
Onstead Jonathan
Onstead Zsuzsa
Orchanian Stephanie UCSD
Ormancey Xavier Beautycounter
Oswald Jack ISOThrive LLC
Ozdemir Aslihan Hacettepe University
Paing Bruno CEA
Pamer Eric Memorial Sloan Kettering CC
Pan Jun UCLA
Park Sung Yong USC
Peara Chris CDP International
Pham Minh-Hà French Embassy in the US
Plesa Calin UCLA
Pronovost Geoffrey UCLA
Radin Arielle UCLA
Ragsdale Amy UCLA
Ramler Ellie UCLA
Rao Srinivas Axial Biotherapeutics
Rasochova Lada Dermala Inc.
Rastegar Gazelle Caprea Biotechnology
Ray Aniruddha UCLA
Razavi Reza Caltech
Rehbinder Sharon AEPI
Ritter Andrew University of Pennsylvania
Roche George SF Microbiome Meetup
Rosenbaum Jean Consulate General of France
Ross Heather USC
Rosse Gerard Dart NeuroScience
Sabbah Brittney JLABS
Schiestl Robert UCLA
Seo Gil Ju USC
Shafiei Jahani Pedram USC Keck School of Medicine
Shi Baochen UCLA
Shishko Catherine University of Chambery
Shokeen Bhumika UCLA
Siera Scott Knobbe Martens
Singh Paramjit University of British Columbia
Sokol Harry INSERM, Sorbonne, INRA
Spears Isabelle UCLA
Stieg Adam UCLA
Stiemsma Leah UCLA
Sun Argus UCLA
Tahara Stanley USC
Taylor Emma Naked Biome
Teng Bobby CalState University Northridge
Thomas-White Krystal Loyola University Chicago
Thornton Shantae USC
Tran Nini UCLA
Tripp Arielle UCLA
Urtecho Guillaume UCLA
Van Dien Stephen Persephone Biome
Vandenberghe Louise UCLA
Vesna Victoria UCLA
Voreades Noah The BioCollective
Vuong Helen UCLA
Vuyisich Momo Viome Inc.
Young Thomas UCLA
Walters Dee Alumnus
Wang Shenshen UCLA
Wang Zoey UCLA
Williams Drake UCLA
Wilson Mark MatrisysBio
Xia Tian UCLA
Yee Lauren UCLA
Yoon Lara UCLA
Young Erick Boehringer Ingelheim
Young Thomas UCLA
Yu Yang USC
Zandi Ebrahim USC
