Microbioma intestinale

Since 2016, I have also been studying the role of the intestinal microbiome in the onset of cardiometabolic diseases.

The intestinal microbiome is the set of bacteria, fungi and viruses that reside in our digestive system, and that are essential for the digestion of food, transforming useful components into energy for the body and identifying those to be eliminated. Changes in the intestinal microbiome can lead to metabolic imbalances, and therefore be involved in the onset of cardiometabolic diseases, such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.

These research studies, conducted in collaboration with the University of Groningen (Netherlands), aim to understand which are the specific bacteria that regulate human metabolism. Their identification could lead to a new approach to medicine, where therapy could consist of a simple alteration of the diet or intake of supplements, depending on a person's microbiome asset.

To better understand the role of the gut microbiome, we are studying over 7,000 individuals of Dutch origin.

Some of the scientific works on this topic:

Kulirshikov 2021 - host-genome microbiome interactions

Sanna et al 2019 - causal role of gut microbiome in T2D

Zhernakova et al 2018 - role of gut microbiome in lipid metabolism

In 2023, I have started two large projects to study the role of microbiome in females.

One of this project, funded by an ERC starting Grant - project SEMICYCLE. I will take advantage of a unique cohort of women that I have set up with a collaboration of Prof. Giorgia Girotto and her group at the Burlo Garofolo Hospital in Trieste. This cohort is named Women4Health -- you can look up on Facebook or Instagram for our social page!