Early Career Researcher Interviews

What are you currently working on within the scope of miGut-Health and what are your main goals and objectives in the project?

In miGut-Health, my current objective is to enhance our understanding and management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) by integrating bacterial metabolic pathway data with metagenomic microbiome data. This integration will enable the prediction of active disease and remission states, even in patients without evident clinical symptoms. To achieve this, I am leveraging advanced machine learning (ML) techniques to identify biomarkers that are highly predictive of the active disease state. By doing so, I aim to develop more effective personalised treatment strategies for IBD patients, ultimately improving their overall quality of life and health outcomes.

What do you particularly like about your field of research?

I find the multi-disciplinary aspect of my research particularly exciting. My field involves the integration of state-of-the-art ML algorithms with biological and medical data. Working at the intersection of computational science and medical research is both fascinating and fulfilling. It allows me to leverage the latest technological advances in AI to help people suffering from various diseases, which is incredibly rewarding.

How do you see the research field of miGut-Health (such as eHealth or biomarker research) evolve in the future?

In the future, I envision the research field of miGut-Health evolving towards the integration of more diverse modalities into single models. This integration could involve combining structured data like images and videos of medical analyses with tabular data such as gut microbiome relative abundances. By leveraging techniques like deep learning, we can uncover complex, nonlinear connections between different data types. This approach has the potential to reveal biomarkers that were previously undetectable, leading to significant advancements in personalised medicine and disease management.

What are you currently working on within the scope of miGut-Health and what are your main goals and objectives in the project? I am currently working on understanding the interaction between the gut microbiome and host immune system, specifically through targeting of IgA molecules. We are implementing an IgA sequencing method that allows for the profiling of bacteria that are coated by the host immune system in health and disease across diverse human populations.

What do you particularly like about your field of research? The interesting thing about gut microbiome research is that we are able to understand human health and physiology through investigating the way we interact with thousands of microorganisms that live on and within us. I particularly like understanding human diversity through microbiome research.

What made you go into science? I have always been motivated by my own curiosity and passion for studying human evolution and health. Throughout my academic trajectory, I became deeply inspired by women scientists I have worked with and science communicators that showed me that science is for everyone.

What are you currently working on within the scope of miGut-Health and what are your main goals and objectives in the project? I am currently working on the work package (WP) 5 activities to identify the modifiable factors that act together with biological indicators among IBD patients and high-risk individuals. With my colleagues, I am contributing to developing a large-population online survey based on a comprehensive review of the existing literature. In particular, I am focussing on the less explored areas, such as lifestyle and psychosocial factors linked with the health-to-disease transition and progression of IBD.

What do you particularly like about your field of research? One of the aspects I particularly like about the field of patient engagement, especially in the context of IBD, is its potential to empower and involve patients in their healthcare journey. IBD is a complex condition requiring ongoing and lifelong management, and patient engagement is crucial to improving outcomes. IBD significantly affects individuals' quality of life, and through the patient engagement approach, we can address their unique needs and provide tailored support.

What makes working on the miGut-Health project special (or interesting/exciting) for you? Being part of an extensive international project is a unique and thrilling experience for me. Collaborating with experts from diverse backgrounds allows for a broader perspective and exchanging valuable knowledge. It is truly inspiring to work alongside passionate professionals who share the common goal of advancing research and improving the lives of individuals with IBD. Overall, the miGut-Health project provides an excellent opportunity to contribute to advancing research.

What are you currently working on within the scope of miGut-Health and what are your main goals and objectives in the project? I am currently working on the WP3 activities by mainly focusing on the optimisation of colon organoid-derived intestinal epithelial cell monolayer and immune cell co-culture systems for further metabolite testing, and the exploration of the effect of tryptophan on mouse intestinal organoids on the transcriptome level. Broadly speaking, together with my colleagues, I aim to reveal the role of gut microbiome-derived metabolites in the inflammatory processes at the gut mucosal barrier. What do you particularly like about your field of research? Working in the field of inflammatory bowel disease is very interesting, as one can look at the disease pathogenesis from many different angles. Personally, I am exploring the interaction and potential communication between intestinal epithelial cells, gut microbiota and its metabolites. It is super exciting, as such studies involve broad range of high-end methods and technologies, and what is more – enables the generation and integration of multi-omics data. What makes working on the miGut-Health project special (or interesting/exciting) for you? Besides the chance to be a part of the most advanced and hot-topic research aiming to improve citizen health, the international experience and possibility to exchange knowledge between partner institutions is what makes working on this project very special to me. The project has only begun a few months ago, but I am already doing a research visit in Kiel, in the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology – what a perfect way to start joint activities!