January 25 – 26, 2023
Microbial diversity, crucial for human health, is globally threatened by urbanization at an unprecedented pace. Microbial biodiversity hotspots are mostly located in places with traditional people and will be lost as they integrate in industrial societies, unless there is recognition of the urgency to preserve it, and foster research to understand the functions of the diversity at risk of being lost.
There is a clear association between industrialization/urbanization and the rocketing of immune and metabolic malfunctions leading to diseases such as asthma, allergies, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, etc. These microbes at risk of extinction will be needed in the future to reverse the worldwide trends of increasing chronic diseases.
The current symposium held by scientists from Asia, America, Africa and Australia encompasses talks from the fields of microbiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, anthropology, conservation, preservation, ethics, and public health. The symposium will discuss and promote the importance of conservation efforts on microbial biodiversity. The target audience are students, researchers, and policy makers, in particular from Asia.
GloMiNe for Asia is the third of a series of symposia to help establish a global microbiome network. The GloMiNe for Asia is hosted by the Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology and organised by a committee which includes institutions from Asia and America. This is an initiative under the mission of Microbiota Vault to conserve long-term health for humanity.
Registration is free but required. Please RSVP at the top of the page.
Deadline: January 25th, 2023
Program (Online Event)
The schedule refers to Western Indonesian Time (WIB), which is UTC +7
Day 1 – Jan 25th
Starting 09:00 am WIB / 02:00 am UTC / 03:00 am CET / 09:00 pm EST (Jan 24th) / 06:00 pm PST (Jan 24th)
09:00-09:10
Safarina G. Malik – Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology, Indonesia
Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello – Rutgers University, USA
Welcome words
09:10-09:15
Prof. dr. Dante Saksono Harbuwono, SpPD-KEMD, PhD – Deputy Minister of Health, Republic of Indonesia
Opening remarks
Session 1: The Human Microbiome (09:15 am – 10:30 am)
09:15-09:30
Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, Rutgers University, USA
MV History
09:30-09:45
Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Microbiome and Health
09:45-10:00
Luis Antonio González Villaseca, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru
Insights in phylogenetic trends in early-life Bifidobacterium breve
10:00-10:15
General discussion
10:15-10:30
Break
Session 2: Culture, Ecology and Ethics (10:30 am – 11:45 am)
10:30-10:45
Yuan Kun Lee, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Sequencing the Asian Microbiome
10:45-11:00
Safarina G. Malik, Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology, Indonesia
Human Microbiome Research in Indonesia: considerations for research with traditional Populations.
11:00-11:15
Iyarit Thaipisuttikul, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand
Human Microbiome Research in Thailand
11:15-11:30
General discussion
11:30-11:45
Break
Session 3: Methods of Collection, Preservation and Research (11:45 am – 01:00 pm)
11:45-12:00
Jeremy Lim, School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, co-founder and CEO of AMiLi Singapore, Singapore
Integrating collection efforts in South East Asia
12:00-12:15
Phil Hugenholtz, The University of Queensland, Australia
Preservation of faecal microbiomes for metagenomic analysis
12:15-12:30
Andrew Holmes, The University of Sydney, Australia
Drivers of biogeographic patterns in gut microbiomes
12:30-12:45
Elsa Fortes-Gabriel, Instituto Superior Técnico Militar (ITSM) and Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Angola (CISA), Angola
Collection, identification and antibiotic-susceptibility profile from feces in Angola
12:45-01:00
General discussion
Day 2 – Jan 26th
Starting 09:15 am WIB / 02:15 am UTC / 03:15 am CET / 09:15 pm EST (Jan 25th) / 06:15 pm PST (Jan 25th)
Session 1: The Human Microbiome (09:15 am – 10:30 am)
09:15-09:30
Jack A. Gilbert, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA
Microbial Ecology
09:30-09:45
Ju-Sheng Zheng, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China
Microbiome and Precision Nutrition
09:45-10:00
Jiro Nakayama, Kyushu University, Japan
Establishment of Gut Microbiome Research Core linking Asian Foods and Health
10:00-10:15
General discussion
10:15-10:30
Break
Session 2: Local Infrastructure and Research (10:30 am – 12:00 pm)
10:30-10:45
Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
The interaction of the gut microbiome and barrier function in colorectal cancer and colitis: The Malaysian perspective
10:45-11:00
Vũ Thị Ngọc Bích, Wellcome Trust Major Asia Programme, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam
Microbiome research in Vietnam
11:00-11:15
Leslie Michelle M. Dalmacio, University of the Philippines, the Philippines
Human Microbiome Research in the Philippines
11:15-11:30
Soninkhishig Tsolmon, Tana Lab, Graduate School of Business, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Mongolia
Microbiome research in the Mongolia
11:30-11:45
General discussion
11:45-12:00
Break
Session 3: Methods of Collection, Preservation and Research (12:00 pm – 01:25 pm)
12:00-12:15
Niranjan Nagarajan, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore
Strategy for generating a high-quality gut microbial reference database for Southeast Asia
12:15-12:30
Endang S. Rahayu, Universitas Gajah Mada, Indonesia
Preliminary research on Indonesian gut microbiota related with malnutrition and metabolic disorder condition
12:30-12:45
Clarissa A. Febinia, Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology, Indonesia
Community Network and Strain Analysis – Lessons from Indonesia Gut Microbiome
12:45-01:00
Adrian Egli, Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Experiences of the Microbiota Vault Pilot Project
01:00-01:15
General discussion
01:15-01:25
Closing
Organizing Committee
Safarina G. Malik | Sukma Oktavianthi | Prisca C. Limardi | Jeremy Lim | Iyarit Thaipisuttikul | Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello
Organizing Institutions
Speakers
Vũ Thị Ngọc Bích
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Vietnam
Vũ Thị Ngọc Bích joined the group of Professor Dr. Heiman Wertheim at the Centre for Tropical Medicine, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ha Noi, Vietnam, focusing on bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance, after she finished her Master of Pharmacy degree in 2007. She started her PhD program under supervision of Prof. Dr. Heiman Wertheim, Prof. Dr. Rogier van Doorn, Associate Prof. Dr. John Pender and Dr. Tran Huy Hoang. Her research strongly focuses on the mediated role of human and animal gut microbiota with frequent exposure to antibiotics in the process of transmission of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic resistance bacteria.
Leslie Michelle M. Dalmacio
University of the Philippines, the Philippines
Leslie Michelle M. Dalmacio is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila. She trained on microbial diversity at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA and on infectious disease biology at Novartis Pharma in Singapore and Basel, Switzerland. She pioneered metagenomics research in the Philippines through environmental studies, as well as microbiome research through studies on the oral and gut microbiome of Filipino adults and children. Her present research focuses on the structure and function of the gut microbiota of Filipinos with diabetes. She is the Philippine coordinator for the Asian Microbiome Project Phase IV.
Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello
Rutgers University, USA
Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello is the Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health at Rutgers University, and the Director of the New Jersey Institute for Food Nutrition and Health (IFNH). Her lab focuses on multidisciplinary approaches to study the impacts of modern practices on the microbiome and strategies for restoration. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, and the Infectious Disease Society of America.
Adrian Egli
Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Adrian Egli is Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology at the University of Zurich. Prof Egli and his team have a strong expertise in using bacterial genomics and metagenomics to detect hypervirulent and multi-drug resistant bacteria in patient samples and explore transmission networks. His main goals are to develop new diagnostic for rapid detection of multidrug resistant and virulent pathogen, to explore novel typing technologies such as whole genome sequencing and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for clinical applications and to finally understand pathogen evolution in the broad context of the host/pathogen/environment interaction.
Clarissa Asha Febinia
Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology, Indonesia
Clarissa Asha Febinia (Asha) is a PhD student in Biological Anthropology. In January 2022, she joined the Genome Diversity and Diseases Laboratory at Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology and laid the groundwork for her current PhD research in collaboration with the University of Cambridge for a ERC-funded project. Her research interest is to understand the human microbiome and how it correlates to human physiology, ancestral history, disease predisposition, culture, and social interactions. She is currently studying the hunter-gatherer Punans in North Kalimantan rainforest, Indonesia.
Elsa Fortes-Gabriel
Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Angola, Angola
Elsa Fortes-Gabriel, is a Military, Veterinary doctor, Master in Public Health and Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. Her work was focused on Leptospira spp research supported by lab groups located in Portugal and the United States of America. In Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Angola – CISA in Bengo she is working as a project Coordinator of a Malaria Clinical Trial and an Enteric Pathogens Surveillance, respectively. Dr. Fortes remains enthusiastic about microbe cultures and isolation for immune technology studies targeting point-of-care diagnosis or the development of an efficacy vaccine.
Jack A. Gilbert
University of California, USA
Jack A. Gilbert is a Professor in Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology. He co-founded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is also the founding Editor in Chief of mSystems journal
Filipa Godoy-Vitorino
University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Filipa is an Associate Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine and the Chair of the Department of Microbiology. A native of Portugal, Filipa developed her career studying biodiversity associated with animal and human microbiomes, investigating an eclectic collection of topics including evolution, community dynamics and dysbiosis in different systems, and pioneered the use of metagenomics to study human microbiome in the Caribbean region. Her laboratory investigates microbiomes in a variety of contexts using various Omic techniques to understand the co-evolution, transmission, and functions of microbial-host symbioses.
Andrew Holmes
The University of Sydney, Australia
Andrew Holmes is in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney where he is also the Microbiome Project node leader in the Charles Perkins Centre, and Co-leader of the Food for Health theme of the Centre for Advanced Food Engineering. He has particular interests in the relationship between the availability of food in the environment, how this shapes the behaviour of animals, and the role of gut microbes in influencing the animal health outcomes. A focus of his work has been the application of the geometric framework to investigate mechanisms of manipulation of host-microbe interaction in the gut via diet regimes or food supplements.
Phil Hugenholtz
The University of Queensland, Australia
Professor Hugenholtz is a microbiologist who has made significant contributions in the field of culture-independent analysis of microorganisms. He discovered and characterised numerous previously unrecognised major bacterial and archaea lineages and has developed a systematic genome-based classification for prokaryotes.
Yuan Kun Lee
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Yuan Kun Lee is from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. His primary areas of investigation include microbiology, botany, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, bacteria, and gut flora. His research integrates issues of Lactobacillus casei, food science, duodenum, and jejunum. One of the focuses of his study is the effect of diet on the cross-talk between the gastrointestinal microbiota and the host. Yuan Kun has researched food science in several fields, including Docosahexaenoic acid and probiotic bacteria.
Jeremy Lim
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Jeremy Lim is the co-founder and CEO of AMiLi, the first dedicated gut microbiome full-service company in Southeast Asia. He is also the Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT) at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, where he works to enhance cooperation, capacity building, and knowledge sharing across the region.
Safarina G. Malik
Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology, Indonesia
Safarina G. Malik recently joined the Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology as Principal Investigator. Previously, she was a Senior Researcher and the Head of the National Genome Center at the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology. Her group focuses on the Indonesian model for epidemic lifestyle disease associations (IMELDA), linking genetic diversity, gut microbiome, and diet with lifestyle disease. She is a Member of the Asia Pacific Nutrigenomics Nutrigenetics Organization (APNNO) as Indonesia’s country representative.
Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar is currently Professor of Genome Medicine at the Department of Physiology. She oversees the university’s strategic strategy for research as the Cluster Chairman for Health & Advanced Medicine at the IDEA centre UKM. She has started working at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain as an adjunct professor. Her study focuses on the role of multi-omics in a variety of disorders, such as colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer linked to colitis, and gynaecological diseases. Her latest research focuses on the gut dysbiosis, ultrastructure of intestinal barrier and association with anti-integrin response in inflammatory bowel disease patients.
Niranjan Nagarajan
Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore
Niranjan Nagarajan is an Associate Director and Senior Group Leader at the Genome Institute of Singapore, as well as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Computer Science. His research focuses on the development of cutting-edge genomic analytic tools and their application to the study of microbial communities’ roles in human health. His group does research at the intersection of genetics, computer science, and microbiology, employing a systems biology approach to better understand host-microbiome-pathogen interactions in a variety of disease states.
Jiro Nakayama
Kyushu University, Japan
Jiro Nakayama is Professor of Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Division of Systems Bio-engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School, Kyushu University. His present research focuses on the structure and function of the gut microbiota of Asian people which differs among countries in reflection of the dietary culture in each country and the impact of food urbanization and globalization rapidly occurring in Asia on their health through the alteration of gut microbiota. To address this notion, he is now leading the JSPS Core-to-Core Program entitled Establishment of Gut Microbiome Research Core linking Asian Foods and Health.
Endang S. Rahayu
Universitas Gajah Mada, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Ir. Endang Sutriswati Rahayu MS, is a lecturer at Department of Food and Agricultural Product Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta Indonesia, since 1980. Her major field is food microbiology. Her research works and publications are mainly related to lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, gut microbiota, and food safety. She belongs to several professional associations, such as of Indonesian Society of Microbiology (PERMI), Indonesian Society for Food Technologist (PATPI), Communication Forum for Indonesian Culture Collection Curators (FORKOMIKRO), Word Federation for Culture Collection (WFCC), Indonesian Society for Lactic Acid Bacteria and Gut Microbiota (ISLAB-GM, as a chairman), and more.
Iyarit Thaipisuttikul
Mahidol University, Thailand
Iyarit Thaipisuttikul is an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand. After receiving an MD degree with first class honor in 1998, he pursued Ph.D. training in genetics and graduated in 2006 from the University of Washington, USA, followed by postdoctoral training in biodefense during 2006-2009. Then, he moved back to Mahidol University where he currently is the program director of the Graduate Program in Medical and Molecular Microbiology and the deputy head of the Department of Microbiology. His research involves molecular epidemiology and genome characterization of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, and microbiome studies in various medical aspects.
Soninkhishig Tsolmon
Tana Lab, Graduate School of Business, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Mongolia
Dr. Ts. Soninkhishig earned her postgraduate degrees in Human Nutrition and Food Functionality at the University of Bridgeport, USA, University of Ghent, Belgium and the University of Tsukuba, Japan. As the first faculty in Human Nutrition in Mongolia since 2000, Dr. Soninkhishig was actively engaged in all aspects of the Nutrition field, from the curriculum development in higher education to research and practice in Mongolia. She is working in a number of international projects such as EU-TEMPUS project on Food safety and quality, in several FAO, UNICEF funded projects as national consultant, in international joint projects in food functions and biotechnology with Taiwanese and Japanese Universities as principal investigator. Currently Dr. Soninkhishig is an affiliated researcher of the Microbiome science group of Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany.
Luis Antonio González Villaseca
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Perú
Luis Antonio González Villaseca has been working in the Microbial Genomics Laboratory since the beginning of 2019, whose principal investigator is Pablo Tsukayama, PhD. Luis obtained his MSc in Genomics from the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, under the supervision of Dr. Trevor Lawley. He recently started his PhD at the Sanger Institute, and is studying the development of the infant gut microbiome in a peri-urban community. His interest is microbial genomics, and investigation of the effect of intestinal microbiota on human health in order to develop effective and novel treatments based on probiotics.
Ju-Sheng Zheng
Westlake University, China
Ju-Sheng Zheng is a principal investigator at the School of Life Sciences of Westlake University, Hangzhou, China. Ju-Sheng got his Ph.D. degree in nutrition at Zhejiang University/Tufts University (joint training Ph.D. student). He was also a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow supported by the European Commission and a postdoctoral researcher at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. A major research interest of Ju-Sheng’s group is personalized nutrition research with the application of novel study designs (such as n-of-1) and modern omics technology, especially microbiome.