Ecological Engineering of the Intestinal Microbiome
Event details
| Date | 27.04.2026 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Dr. Médéric Diard, Basel University, Biozentrum |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
EPFL BIOE TALKS SERIES (sandwiches provided)
Abstract:
The intestinal microbiota represents an important line of defense against pathogenic microbes. It is also the most complex microbial community in the human body shaped by multiple host specific factors including diet, genetic background and environment. Improving the composition of the intestinal microbiota to exclude pathogens or to implement therapeutic functions is therefore particularly challenging and remains an unmet medical need. My group studies the ecological forces at play in the intestinal microbiome (i.e., the host and its microbiota) in health and disease. From this we develop novel microbiome engineering approaches to exclude pathogens. I will present recent work showing that combining engineered niche competitors with bacteriophages and vaccination can strengthen the protective role of the microbiota against pathogens and enable robust strain replacement.
Bio:
Médéric Diard's work lies at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and microbiology. He obtained his doctorate in microbiology from Paris Diderot University (2008) where he specialized in the evolutionary dynamics of pathogenic enterobacteria. Before taking up his current position, he was a lecturer at ETH Zurich in the Department of Biology (Hardt Group), and studied the intra-host evolution of Salmonella Typhimurium. Appointed SNSF professor in 2018 at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Médéric currently leads a research team studying the evolution of gut pathobionts under the selective pressures exerted by the microbiota, bacteriophages, and vaccines. His work, funded by an ERC Consolidator grant, is essential for understanding the evolution of gut pathobionts and strategies for combating them without relying exclusively on traditional antibiotics.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students planning to attend this talk, who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
IN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room, please make sure to
Abstract:
The intestinal microbiota represents an important line of defense against pathogenic microbes. It is also the most complex microbial community in the human body shaped by multiple host specific factors including diet, genetic background and environment. Improving the composition of the intestinal microbiota to exclude pathogens or to implement therapeutic functions is therefore particularly challenging and remains an unmet medical need. My group studies the ecological forces at play in the intestinal microbiome (i.e., the host and its microbiota) in health and disease. From this we develop novel microbiome engineering approaches to exclude pathogens. I will present recent work showing that combining engineered niche competitors with bacteriophages and vaccination can strengthen the protective role of the microbiota against pathogens and enable robust strain replacement.
Bio:
Médéric Diard's work lies at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and microbiology. He obtained his doctorate in microbiology from Paris Diderot University (2008) where he specialized in the evolutionary dynamics of pathogenic enterobacteria. Before taking up his current position, he was a lecturer at ETH Zurich in the Department of Biology (Hardt Group), and studied the intra-host evolution of Salmonella Typhimurium. Appointed SNSF professor in 2018 at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Médéric currently leads a research team studying the evolution of gut pathobionts under the selective pressures exerted by the microbiota, bacteriophages, and vaccines. His work, funded by an ERC Consolidator grant, is essential for understanding the evolution of gut pathobionts and strategies for combating them without relying exclusively on traditional antibiotics.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students planning to attend this talk, who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
IN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room, please make sure to
- send Fiorella Ghisays a note well ahead of time (ideally before seminar day), informing that you plan to attend the talk online, and, during seminar:
- be signed in on Zoom with a recognizable user name (not any alias making it difficult or impossible to identify you).
Practical information
- Informed public
- Registration required
Organizer
- Prof. Anne-Florence Bitbol, Institute of Bioengineering
Contact
- Fiorella Ghisays, Institute of Bioengineering (IBI),