Top microbiome innovations 2023
Communications and Campaigns Manager
Our autumn/winter 2022 Global Challenge campaign aimed to surface the next generation of research leveraging the human microbiome to prevent disease and improve health. Our in-house team of STEM experts disseminated the submissions we received from 54 academic institutes to R&D leads at companies across the microbiome space based on the alignment of research priorities and needs.
In this article, we showcase the twelve top microbiome innovations submitted to the campaign by academic teams that received the highest levels of engagement from our global R&D community.
The metrics used to determine these top innovations include the number of introduction requests from companies to the academia team, positive feedback from the companies triaging the opportunity, and article reads per submission, all via our online academia-industry matchmaking platform Connect.
The projects that feature were submitted to the campaign by academic researchers, universities and research institutes around the world, and range from probiotics designed to prevent dental cavities, to synthetic microbial community platforms to treat infections such as C. difficile.
In total, 72 opportunities were submitted to this Global Challenge campaign. You can view the full list of submissions to the campaign in our microbiome research and innovation: open directory.
How to review the projects
A non-confidential summary of each of these top microbiome innovations is hosted on IN-PART’s online matchmaking platform for academia-industry collaboration, Connect. Set up an account (it’s completely free for companies), log in, review the opportunities, share feedback, or ask for more information from the teams behind them.
How to connect with the teams behind the technologies
If you see a project that aligns with your company’s R&D priorities, you can make a request for more information directly through the article on Connect. The academic team or project lead at the institute will then send you a response directly by email.
Top microbiome innovations
12. Targeted Delivery of Chemotherapy for Colorectal Cancer
A new technology from the University of Arizona allows for the specific release of chemotherapy drug 5-Fluorouracil in the colon, reducing systemic exposure and adverse effects. This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of colorectal and stomach cancers, as well as inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal disorders.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
11. A novel microbiome intervention to prevent cardiovascular diseases
There is growing evidence of a direct link between gut bacteria and atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of arteries, which is the underlying cause of most cardiovascular diseases. Researchers at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute have exploited this relationship to create biotherapeutics that use a single strain or a combination of bacteria to prevent and treat atherosclerosis, This treatment method has proved more effective than current therapies at a lower price.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
10. New Pipeline Enables Genetic Manipulation of Non-Model Gut Bacteria
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a pipeline to efficiently identify gene transfer methods and build genetic manipulation tools for nonmodel human gut bacteria communities. This breakthrough allows for precise control of microbiome molecular output to investigate effects on host biology, expanding the scope of gut microbes that may be employed as live biotherapeutics.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
9. Cancer Treatment Boosted by Gut Bacteria
Scientists at Innovate Calgary have discovered a potential breakthrough in cancer treatment using specific gut bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium pseudolongum, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Olsenella species, in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). In pre-clinical tests, the treatment has been shown to be effective in reducing tumour size in mice, offering hope for novel cancer therapeutics. The discovery could lead to a new type of cancer immunotherapy and co-therapy involving gut bacteria.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
8. A biodegradable device to restore the microbiome
Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València have developed a biodegradable polymeric device for the controlled release of bacteria in the intestine, aimed at restoring the microbiome after intestinal resection surgeries in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. The technology has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life for patients with IBD and other digestive diseases reducing the need for colonoscopies and improving efficacy compared to current treatments by oral administration.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
7. Next generation multiomics to improve healthcare
Using a combination of microbial analysis and multiomics approaches, scientists at Ca’ Foscari Venice University are developing a novel method to study the dynamics of both healthy and unhealthy bacterial communities. This can be applied to the study of probiotics, bacterial therapeutics, and drug metabolism.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
6. More than skin deep modelling
As the body’s first line of physical defence and host to millions of microbes, alterations to the skin microbiome’s balance may play a role in conditions ranging from atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, to infections and systemic diseases. To better understand these interactions, Radbound University researchers have developed a model of human skin able to determine the effects of substances on the skin microbiome and barrier function.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
5. C. the Difference using synthetic microbial communities
Leading with a precise and synthetic alternative to faecal transplants for recurrent C. difficile infection, researchers at Penn State University have developed a novel synthetic microbial community platform. Given that many host-microbiome interactions involve multiple microbes, designing and understanding complex synthetic communities could pave the way to new multi-strain therapeutics for a variety of diseases.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
4. Predicting drug response using the microbiome
As the gut microbiome can impact how drugs are metabolised, its effect should be considered in drug development, as it can explain the non-linear pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles seen in currently used drugs. A team at Princeton University have developed a test that takes into account the microbiome to predict drug response, which will help avoid adverse drug effects and facilitate personalisation of treatments.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
3. Probiotics to prevent dental cavities
Researchers at the University of Toronto have identified a bacterial strain that can be used for an oral probiotic to prevent dental cavities in children. The strain, and its isolated peptides, have been found to be natural oral pathogen inhibitors, including 99% efficacy against the pathogen biofilms responsible for causing dental caries.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
2. A protective protein for probiotics
Desiccation of probiotics delivered to the intestines is a persisting hurdle in harnessing the microbiome to improve health, despite recent advances in the field. Aiming to solve this issue, researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered a bacterial protein that protects cellular machinery from the denaturing effects of water loss, therefore allowing for higher viable dosages of probiotics and improved gut colonisation.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
1. Say good-bile to gut microbiome disease
Inventors at North Carolina State University have engineered Lactobacillus strains expressing bile salt hydrolase (BSH) enzymes to modulate bile composition in vivo. BSH enzymes influence the composition of the gut microbiome, altering digestive function and reducing cholesterol, with the potential to treat infectious or metabolic diseases and other gut microbiome-associated diseases.
Read the full project summary to learn more about this top microbiome innovations feature.
Written by Jolie Hamilton-Warford (1), Emily Jones (2), Anabel Bennett (3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), Mireia Baizan-Urgell (4), Maddie Cullen (8,9), and Daisy Gillott (7). Edited by Anabel Bennett, Frances Wilkinson, and Alex Stockham.
Copyrights reserved unless otherwise agreed – IN-PART Publishing Ltd., 2023: ‘Top Microbiome Innovations’
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