The 9th Joint Symposium on Gut Microbiology organised by the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Scotland (UK) and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Clermont-Ferrand-Theix (France) will begin at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre today (Monday June 16).
The four-day event, which has been running since 1995, takes place every two years, alternating in venue between Aberdeen and Clermont-Ferrand.
Around 350 delegates from across the globe - including researchers, human and animal health experts, industry representatives and policymakers – will gather for the conference which will centre on four themes:
- Microbial diversity in health and disease: Are specific gut bacteria associated with preventing – or causing – gut diseases including Ulcerative Colitis or Crohns disease?
- The relationship between (meta)genomic sequences and microbial activity: Huge amounts of genomic information is now widely available – what does it tell us?
- Microbial metabolism of dietary components and functional foods: How gut bacteria convert incoming foods into compounds that affect our health.
- Microbial interactions with the host: Identifying signals between your bacteria, your body and your brain.
Lectures will be given by internationally renowned scientists, whilst younger scientists will also have the opportunity to present their data at this major scientific meeting in the form of talks and posters.
The third day of the conference is a symposium co-hosted by the Rowett-INRA committee and ISAPP (International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics), featuring additional invited speakers that will attract a further 100 delegates, many representing industry. The conference will end in true Scottish style with a Ceilidh at the Beach Ballroom.
The conference has attracted platinum sponsorship from Cambio Ltd, distributor for MO BIO Laboratories Inc., who supply the DNA & RNA extraction kits recommended by the NIH protocol for the Human Microbiome Project.
For more information on the conference visit: www.abdn.ac.uk/events/rowett-inra2014.