The Microbiome: A New Frontier In Human Health

The Center for Genetic Medicine of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine welcomes you to attend the Silverstein Lecture Series on November 5 (Chicago) and November 6 (Evanston), featuring Susan Lynch, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Director Colitis and Crohn’s Disease Microbiome Research Core, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco.

Traditionally the medical community has viewed microbes as the cause of illness and sought to eliminate them. This notion, however, is shifting as emerging research in the field of human microbiome research has revealed the presence of diverse microorganisms living on and within the human body. These complex microbial communities develop during infancy and produce a range of essential functions necessary for maintenance of human health. Dr. Lynch will discuss the genesis, influences on and effects of the human microbiome, with a particular focus on childhood allergic disease and asthma.

Wednesday, November 5, 6:00 pm
Chicago Campus
Northwestern University
Hughes Auditorium, Lurie Medical Research Center
303 E. Superior Street, Chicago

Thursday, November 6, 6:00pm
Evanston Campus
Northwestern University
Abbott Auditorium, Pancoe Life Sciences Pavilion
2200 Campus Drive, Evanston

Event website: http://cgm.northwestern.edu/education/silverstein-lecture/november-2014.html

RSVP appreciated (though not required) via this form - https://nufsm.wufoo.com/forms/the-microbiome - or by calling the Center for Genetic Medicine at 312-503-5600.

Dr. Lynch received her undergraduate degree in Microbiology from University College Dublin, Ireland. She completed her graduate studies in the same department, where she identified and characterized the polyketide enconding gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of the antifungal, Amphotericin B. Dr Lynch performed her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. A.C. Matin, in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University. There she was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship for her development of engineered bacterial enzymes with improved capacity for anti-cancer prodrug activation. While at Stanford, she also examined how exposure of Escherichia coli to conditions of low shear, differentially regulated its stress response and promoted its capacity to form biofilms and resist environmental insults.In June 2005, Dr. Lynch joined the Translational Research on Microbial Pathogens group at UCSF. Appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2006, she focused her research on the type III secretion system of the respiratory pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. During this time she initiated multiple translational and basic studies of the airway and gastrointestinal microbiome which included patients with asthma, cystic fibrosis and irritable bowel syndrome. In 2009, she moved her group to the Division of Gastroenterology at UCSF, where she is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine in Residence, and Director of the Colitis and Crohn’s Disease Microbiome Research Core. Her research program focuses primarily on understanding the contribution of the local microbiome to chronic gastrointestinal and airway inflammatory diseases. Her extensive background in both pulmonary and gastrointestinal microbiome research has also allowed her to examine the gut-airway axis - how changes in the gut microbiome impact airway responses. As an extension of this research, she is also engaged in the development of rationally designed next-generation probiotics. Her research efforts ultimately aim to improve our understanding of the human superorganism and develop novel therapeutics that both restore the microbial ecosystem and beneficially modulate both local and systemic immune responses.

Dr. Lynch is extensively published with approximately 80 peer-reviewed publications, many in the emergent field of human microbiome research. She is currently funded by multiple agencies including the NIAID, NHLBI, NCCAM, the Sloan, Broad and Cystic Fibrosis Foundations and several industrial sponsors and is the author of 5 patents.

The lecture is presented by the Center for Genetic Medicine with support from the Herman M. and Bea L. Silverstein Medical Research Fund for Genetic Medicine.