The gut microbiome community gathered in Washington, D.C. this past weekend for the 2024 Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit (GMFH), a partnership between AGA and the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM). This year’s theme was “crossing the threshold from lab to life” and featured two keynote lectures, four plenary sessions and two workshop sessions that summarized a diverse array of microbiome research.
Meeting recap
Dr. Barbara opened up the welcoming remarks on Saturday morning by contextualizing the growing field of microbiome research and it’s scientific importance.
The opening keynote was given by Dr. Eran Elinav and focused on a phage-based therapeutic pipeline for microbiome-associated diseases and presented a proof of concept system in the case of IBD.
Plenary session 1 focused on improving health through the gut microbiome and featured lectures on immunity, longevity and microbiome changes in preclinical phases of IBD.
Plenary session 2 highlighted the growing market of microbiome-based products and addressed regulatory concerns as well as intellectual property strategy for bringing these microbiome-based products to market.
Saturday’s afternoon workshop sessions included:
- Correcting dysbiotic microbial functional deficit
- Dietary biomarkers and gut microbiome biomarkers for health and disease – opportunities and pitfalls
- Personalized nutrition to engineer the microbiome
- The future of microbiome therapies beyond C. difficile infection
Saturday evening was capped off by a networking reception which gave attendees a chance to peruse the poster hall.
On Sunday, plenary session 3 featured talks on next generation biotherapeutic probiotics, moving from microbiota transplantation to fully synthetic communities and making microbiome-based products stable and reproducible.
Sunday concluded with plenary session 4 which focused on big data and the gut microbiome. Talks were given on AI and the microbiome, pharmacomicrobiomics and diagnostic tests. The closing keynote was given my Dr. Jens Walter and was all about healthy eating as a microbiome host.
Social media highlights
Hanging with our #ForwardFamily this weekend at the @AmerGastroAssn Gut Microbiota for Health #GMFH 2024 World Summit @biancaislam @JGubatanMD @DrNEbigbo @JmarioMd 🧪 🧫 🧬 🦠 👩🏾🔬👨🏻🔬👨🏽🔬🧑🏻🔬👨🏿🔬 pic.twitter.com/r2iE4N7XI2
— Bianca Islam, MD, PhD, MSc (she/her) (@biancaislam) March 23, 2024
💸❓ @KenCroitoru discusses the role of the microbiome in preclinical inflammatory bowel disease at #GMFH2024 https://t.co/9wvHjUvKzD
— American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) (@AmerGastroAssn) March 23, 2024
What an amazing weekend in DC, and an impromptu mini #ForwardFamily reunion at the @AmerGastroAssn Gut Microbiota for Health #GMFH 2024 World Summit @biancaislam @JGubatanMD @DrNEbigbo pic.twitter.com/jtQstKNB3q
— JMario_MD (@JmarioMd) March 24, 2024
