Host-microbial Metabolic Cross Talk

Join us to learn more about metabolic profiling to better understand the relationship between diet, gut microbiome and human health. Visiting experts Dr Anisha Wijeyesekera, a lecturer in Human Microbiome, Diet and Health from the University of Reading, and Dr Jia Li, Deputy Director of the Imperial International Phenome Training Centre in London, will share insights from their specialist work in this important area of health research.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Dr Anisha Wijeyesekera

Dr Wijeyesekera is a lecturer in Human Microbiome, Diet and Health in the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading. Her research focus is in the application of metabolic and microbial profiling for better understanding of host-gut microbiome interactions, with a view to using this information to tailor nutritional or other interventional therapy to improve health outcomes. She has experience in the application of these approaches in a range of studies including: functional assessment of the gut microbiome using in vitro human gut model systems, molecular phenotyping of signatures associated with disease and in response to intervention in paediatric and adult patient cohorts, and mining of metabolite patterns associated with diet and ageing that contribute to health status in large-scale epidemiology studies.

Dr Jia Li

Dr Jia Li graduated from Nankai University, China in 2005 and obtained a PhD in biochemistry from the University of London in 2009. Awarded an Imperial College Fellowship in 2010, her research is focused on investigating metabolic interactions between host and gut microbiota and exploring functional roles of the gut microbiota in modulating host physiology. As an MRC New Investigator and an ERC Starting Grant Holder, she is also the Deputy Director of the Imperial International Phenome Training Centre and a course leader for the MRes stream in Microbiome in Health and Disease. She is a recipient of a number of grants awards including the Elsie Widdowson Fellowship (2017) and the “40 World Young Scientists” at the World Summer Davos Conference (2015).

If you have any questions about this event please contact Sue Geoghegan - S.Geoghegan@murdoch.edu.au.