Special Seminars

• The Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease
  
  
  Tuesday, April 14, 1-2 PM,
  GBSF Auditorium, Rm 1005
  
  
  Please join us for a special presentation by Dr. Karsten Kristiansen from the University of Copenhagen, Department of Biology.  A brief description of the seminar follows:
  
  
  The importance of the gut microbiota for regulation of metabolism and immune functions is well established, and evidence has been presented that the gut microbiota may also affect behavior. However, the exact molecular mechanisms by which bacteria in the gut exert their actions still remain elusive. Our laboratory is involved in large-scale metagenomics projects in collaboration with BGI-Shenzhen using high throughput Illumina-based sequencing of total fecal DNA. These studies have primarily been focused on humans and mice, but have now been extended to encompass several other species including pig and fish. We have established comprehensive catalogs of bacterial genes of the gut microbiomes in these species. In this lecture I will first summarize our data on the mouse, the pig, and the human gut microbiota, pointing to differences and similarities. We have described how the gut microbiota is established after birth in humans. We have demonstrated changes in the gut microbiota that characterize obese individuals, individuals with type 2 diabetes, and patients suffering from colorectal cancer revealing characteristic changes in the diversity and functional competences of the gut microbiota. I will conclude the lecture by discussing possible functional consequences and perspectives of these findings.
  
  
  
  
  Speaker Bio: Dr Karsten Kristiansen is Professor of Molecular Biology and Head of the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen. He has a PhD from the University of Copenhagen and has held postdoctoral positions at the Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Genetik in Berlin and at the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, in Paris. Dr Kristiansen is also a member of the Danish Academy of Natural Sciences, a visiting professor at and senior advisor to BGI-Shenzhen, and serves as scientific advisor for several biotech companies. Dr Kristiansen’s research focuses on metagenomics, genomics, and regulation of gene expression and cellular differentiation with particular emphasis on energy homeostasis and adipocyte differentiation and function.