Gastrointestinal dysbiosis and <i>Escherichia coli</i> pathobionts in inflammatory bowel diseases

Abstract

My interest in the field of gastrointestinal microbiology started early in my medical career with a study of bacterial gastroenteritis that is included in this dissertation.Over time I have steadily become more involved in the search for new areas where microbiology and gastroenterology may be linked.During my PhD research in the exciting field of Helicobacter pylori infection, I realized that novelty can often be found in the areas lying between fixed sets of thought.No one believed the Australian doctors Warren and Marshall when they claimed that a gastric infection was the cause of gastroduodenal ulcers, but in the end their innovation and persistence managed to convince even the most doubtful scientist.It has certainly underscored that specific or consortia of microorganisms may very well cause, or at least play a central role in, many other chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).Today it is not controversial to perform research trying to improve the dysbiosis linked to IBD using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), just as FMT has treated the dysbiosis linked to C. difficile infection.All of these areas are at the core of this dissertation.Hopefully, our research has been one small additional step in the journey leading to new and microbiome-based treatments of IBD, a disease in which we today can't always find a medical cure, but instead must perform surgical removal of parts of the intestine.Finally, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my main collaborators: Professor Karen A. Krogfelt, Post Doc Hengameh Chlo e Mirsepasi-Lauridsen and Post Doc Sofie Ingdam Halkjaer with their manifold talents in networking, lab research and project managing.This gratitude is

Topics & Concepts