Gut Instincts: The Link Between Diet, the Gut Microbiota and the Brain

STRATiGRAD PhD students host students from the University of Cork for the third Annual APC-ICL Postgraduate Symposium 2016.

The Imperial College STRATiGRAD programme had the pleasure of hosting our friends and colleagues from the APC Microbiome Institute (University College Cork) from 12^th to 14^th of October. For a third time, this annual postgraduate symposium was a hit! The exchange of ideas and information between these innovative centres of excellence is truly inspiring. The STRATiGRAD program is within the Division of Computational and Systems Medicine, focusing mainly on metabonomics, while the APC’s specialty is microbiomics, two very complementary areas of research.

The symposium began with a campus tour for our guests followed by an introduction keynote talk by our own Dr Jon Swann. Dr Swann provided an entertaining and informative overview of current microbiome research which highlighted some important work taking place here at Imperial. Attendees then participated in a metabolic pathway analysis workshop, led by STRATiGRAD alumnus, Mr Torben Kimhofer. The afternoon was concluded with a second keynote by Dr Danny Commane who joined from the University of Reading. Dr Commane gave interesting insights on biomarkers of colorectal cancer risk, paying special attention to diet and microbial metabolites. Everyone then made their way to the drinks reception, where we were able to get better acquainted with each other.

Bright and early the next day, we headed back in for the student talks. Nine students presented their work which ranged from microbial genetics and metabolism to the role of exercise/athleticism in gut microbial community dynamics. Of special note is a talk given by APC student Thomas Sutton. His presentation about investigating the human gut phageome went on to win the prize for best student talk of this year’s symposium. After lunch Dr Paul Cotter (APC), the third keynote speaker, presented his research on the microbiome of food.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at St Mary’s Hospital where students were given a demonstration of the ingenious iKnife, invented by Professor Zoltan Takats. This electrical “intelligent knife” uses mass spectrometry to identify cancerous tissue providing real-time diagnosis for accurate and precise surgery. 

We also toured the Hamlyn Robotics Centre and watched a clip on the iDome, an immersive projection system. What a showcase of technology! We then finished the evening with a delightful meal in Soho and continued mingling over a few drinks at the pub. 

The last morning of our symposium included a poster session in which all students from both universities were invited to present their research projects. Attendees then voted on their favourite poster, awarded to STRATiGRAD’s Dieter Galea for his unparalleled data visualisation skills. Professor Gary Frost (Imperial) gave the closing keynote on short chain fatty acids.

Overall, feedback of this year’s symposium was very positive. We students are very interested in learning about each other’s research and creating collaborative networks across other universities. It is anticipated that it will run again next year and there is even talk about including PhD students from the University of Reading.