2024 highlights in biotic science, with ISAPP’s current and past Presidents
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In this episode, ISAPP’s current President Prof. Maria Marco PhD and past President Prof. Dan Merenstein join the podcast hosts for a conversation about highlights in biotic science from the past year. Prof. Marco points out a paper published in Nature Microbiology, the result of an ISAPP discussion group exploring whether diet may be a confounder of biotic effects in clinical studies. The group concluded that scientists should work with dietitians to include data on participants’ habitual diet in future studies on biotics – particularly with on prebiotics. These efforts will help scientists establish causality and understand the basis of individual responses to a biotic intervention. Prof. Merenstein highlighted conversations in 2024 around the role of probiotics in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), including ISAPP’s panel on this topic at the annual meeting in Cork, Ireland. Although US regulators have recently warned against the use of probiotics for preterm infants in the NICU setting, the data overwhelmingly points to benefits and this may eventually drive regulatory change. Prof. Marco added that a take-away from ISAPP’s panel was that parents of preterm infants should be included in the decision-making around whether to use probiotics. The guests talked about Prof. Merenstein’s recent appointment to the National Academy of Medicine and his rigorous approach to primary care research. Further highlights in the science this year were ISAPP’s papers exploring evidence for probiotics restoring an antibiotic-disrupted microbiota, and evidence for the benefits of probiotics in healthy individuals – both of which found a lack of conclusive evidence to answer these questions. Many gaps exist in the knowledge around biotics, gut microbiota, and health – for example, another paper this year found that the abundance of microorganisms in a fecal sample is a confounder of microbiome-disease associations. And finally, beyond the scientific advancements, conveying the scientific concepts to the general public requires careful consideration and dedicated effort.
Episode abbreviations and links:
- ISAPP paper calling for dietary data to be included in clinical trials on biotics: Design and reporting of prebiotic and probiotic clinical trials in the context of diet and the gut microbiome
- Blog article on ISAPP’s panel on the use of probiotics for preterm infants: Expert Panel at ISAPP Annual Meeting Addresses Probiotic Use for Premature Infants
- Blog article on Prof. Merenstein’s appointment to the National Academy of Medicine: ISAPP Board Member Prof. Dan Merenstein MD Elected to National Academy of Medicine
- Explanation of ISAPP’s paper exploring whether probiotics restore an antibiotic-disrupted microbiota: ISAPP panel concludes that more evidence is needed to determine whether probiotics help restore an antibiotic-disrupted microbiota
- Paper showing fecal microbial load may confound microbiome-disease associations: Fecal microbial load is a major determinant of gut microbiome variation and a confounder for disease associations
About Prof. Maria Marco PhD
Dr. Maria Marco, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. She earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology at The Pennsylvania State University and her PhD in microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley. As a postdoc at NIZO food research in The Netherlands, she developed a love for lactic acid bacteria and the importance of these microorganisms in our foods and the digestive tract. Her postdoctoral studies led to the discovery that probiotics are metabolically active in the intestine and responsive to dietary intake. Dr. Marco started her lactic acid bacteria and gut health laboratory at UC Davis in 2008 and has built an internationally-recognized, NIH, USDA, and NSF funded research program on probiotics, fermented foods, and dietary modulation of the gut microbiome. Dr. Marco also consults with and has received funding from international foundations and companies to investigate how certain microbes in foods or supplements may benefit health. She is active with science communication activities such as the EATLAC project and is the instructor for two food microbiology courses. Dr. Marco received the American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer award in 2012. Recently, she founded the ongoing Gordon Research Conference series on Lactic Acid Bacteria. Dr. Marco attended her first ISAPP meeting as a postdoc and participated as an invited expert before joining the ISAPP Board of Directors in 2019.
About Prof. Dan Merenstein
Dr. Daniel Merenstein, MD, is a Professor with tenure of Family Medicine at Georgetown University, where he also directs Family Medicine research. Dr. Merenstein has a secondary appointment in the undergraduate Department of Human Science, in the School of Health. Dr. Merenstein teaches two undergraduate classes, a research capstone and a seminar class on evaluating evidence based medical decisions. He has been funded by PCORI, NIH, USDA, foundations and industry. The primary goal of Dr. Merenstein’s research is to provide answers to common clinical questions that lack evidence and improve patient care. Dr. Merenstein is a clinical trialist who has recruited over 2,000 participants for 10 probiotic trials since 2006. He is an expert on probiotics, on antibiotic stewardship in outpatient settings, and also conducts HIV research in a large women’s cohort. He sees patients in clinic one day a week. Dan lives in Maryland with his wife and 4 boys.
