Scientific Committee & Faculty

1^st International School of Gut Microbiota in Digestive Disease

• Prof. Giovanni Barbara (Italy)
• Dr. Giovanni Marasco (Italy)
• Dr. Marcello Romeo (Italy)

Dr. Sari Arponen (Spain) - Speaker  MD, Spec. in Internal Medicine, Master’s degrees in Clinical Psychoneuroimmunology, Genomic and Precision Nutrition, Infectious Diseases, HIV and Expertise in Microbiomics and Lifestyle Medicine

Prof. Qasim Aziz (UK) – Moderator  Professor of Neurogastroenterology at Queen Mary University of London, President of European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM), Member of the Educational Committee of United European Gastroenterology Federation (UEGF)

Prof. Giovanni Barbara (Italy) – Moderator/Speaker  Full Professor of Internal Medicine, MD, Spec. in Gastroenterology, Dpt. of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Sant’Orsola Malpighi Hospital University of Bologna, Past President of ESNM, Executive Board Chair of GMFH

Dr. Maria Raffaella Barbaro (Italy) – Speaker  Biologist and researcher, PhD in Cellular, Molecular and Industrial Biology – Molecular and Functional Biology, Dpt. of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Sant’Orsola Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna

Prof. Premysl Bercik (Canada) – Speaker Full Professor, Division of Gastroenterology, Member of the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University

Prof. John Cryan (Ireland) – Speaker  Professor and Chair, Dpt. of Anatomy & Neuroscience, Principal Investigator in the APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork 

Prof. Francisco Guarner (Spain) – Speaker  MD, Spec. in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Consultant of Gastroenterology, Digestive System Research Unit, Head of the Experimental Laboratory and Member of the Scientific Committee of the Research Institution, University Hospital Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Member of the Board of Directors of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, Member of the Steering Committee of the International Human Microbiome Consortium

Prof. Dirk Haller (Germany) – Speaker  Full Professor and Chair of Nutrition and Immunology, School of Life Sciences, Director of Corporate Research Institute, Food & Health, Technical University of Munich, Collaborative Research Center Coordinator, Microbiome Signatures – Functional Relevance in the Digestive Tract, German Research Foundation (DFG)

Dr. Giovanni Marasco (Italy) - Moderator  MD, Spec. in Gastroenterology, PhD, Researcher of Internal Medicine, Dpt. of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Sant’Orsola Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna

Dr. Marcello Romeo (Italy) – Speaker MD, PhD in Biomedicine and Neuroscience, Lecturer for Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition University of Pavia

Prof. Magnus Simren (Sweden) – Speaker Professor of Gastroenterology, University of Gothenburg, Consultant, Dpt. of Internal Medicine Sahlgrenska University Hospital Gothenburg

About this webinar

Clostridioides (previously known as Clostridium) difficile (C. difficile) is a key cause of healthcare-associated infections and poses a substantial public health threat that carries high morbidity and mortality rates, especially amongst affected elderly patients (>65 years). C. difficile infection (CDI) also places a considerable burden on healthcare systems worldwide, with up to one-third of patients who develop an initial episode of CDI subsequently going on to develop a recurrence.

C. difficile bacteria is widely found in the environment, especially in the soil, and in the digestive system of animals and humans. In healthy individuals, a healthy gut microbiota comprising a broad consortium of micro-organisms is able to prevent C. difficile from multiplying to harmful levels in the gut and thus provide resistance against CDI. However, disruption of the composition and/or diversity (i.e. dysbiosis) of the gut microbiota allows proliferation of C. difficile and the subsequent production of toxins that lead to clinical symptoms of CDI, which range from mild diarrhoea through to, in severe and complicated cases, toxic megacolon, and even death. In addition, the diagnosis and management of patients with CDI is often complicated due to the presence of other dysbiosis-associated co-morbidities (e.g. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), while emerging evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of post-infection irritable bowel syndrome following CDI.

Current clinical guidelines issued by infectious disease and/or gastroenterology societies in the United States and Europe recommend oral antibiotics (vancomycin, metronidazole or fidaxomicin) as first-line therapy for the initial episode of CDI, as well as for first recurrence of CDI, depending on the severity of the condition. While antibiotic treatment of CDI can resolve the infection, it can also maintain the microbiota in a disrupted state; thus, leaving a patient susceptible to recurrence of CDI and, ultimately, leading to a vicious cycle of recurrent disease.

The relationship between CDI and dysbiosis means that treatment approaches should also consider the impact on the gut microbiome. Indeed, this is reflected in clinical guidelines with the inclusion of non-antibiotic treatments, such as fecal microbiota transplantation and monoclonal antibody. In addition, different non-antibiotic modalities, such as antibodies, microbiota-based therapeutics and vaccines, are currently being actively investigated in the prevention or treatment of recurrent CDI.

While there is widespread scientific literature regarding CDI, there is still a need to better inform the wider medical community on the importance of recognising the microbiome-mediated nature of CDI and how different treatment modalities available can help to resolve the condition and/or restore the gut microbiota to avoid recurrence.