Microbiome Analysis for Human and Planetary Health

Host: Professor Eduardo Eyras

Abstract

Environmental sequencing, that is metagenomics, has become a major driver for uncovering microbial biodiversity and increasingly also for cataloging molecular functions on our planet. Based on computational methods and resources, often developed in our group, but also utilizing public resources, here I (i) introduce into our work on the gut microbiome, arguable the best-studied microbial community with its internal and environmental (host) interactions, serving as a model for other habitats.

Bioinformatics-driven hypothesis generation is complemented by experimental approaches in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo, to pave the way for diagnostics and medication guidance. I (ii) further show how to apply the underlying concepts to other habitats, like ocean and soil, to arrive at basic understanding of the underexplored microbial diversity on earth. Data integration from various habitats is crucial to address global base-line question utilizing the discovery of microbial biodiversity. For example, how is molecular function is evolving and spreading between habitats, given that species are mostly habitat-specific. Such base-line knowledge prepares the grounds, in analogy to microbial diagnostics and treatment for human health, for bioindicators and remediation strategies in various habitats towards improving planetary health.

Biography

Peer directs the Heidelberg site of EMBL (European Molecular Biology laboratory) and is senior group leader in the areas of computational biology and microbiomics. In addition, he is honorary professor at the universities of Heidelberg and Würzburg as well as the Fudan university of Shanghai. Peer received his PhD in Biochemistry (1990) and his Habilitation in Theoretical Biophysics (1995). His research group works in various areas of computational and systems biology, currently with a focus on microbiomes.

He has published more than 650 research articles, among them more than 80 in Nature, Science or Cell, and is among the most cited researchers in the world (>320.000 citations, H-factor of 230 in 2022). He is or has been on the editorial board of various journals, including Science and Cell, and functions as founding editor of the journal Molecular Systems Biology. Peer co-founded five successful biotech companies, two of which went public. More than 60 of his former associates now hold professorships or other group leader positions in prominent institutions all over the world.

He received a number of awards, among them the "Nature award for creative mentoring" for his achievements in nurturing and stimulating young scientists, the prestigious "Royal Society and Académie des Sciences Microsoft award" for the advancement of science using computational methods and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Novozymes prize for outstanding contributions to Biotechnology. He further obtained two competitive ERC advanced investigator grants and is elected member of the German national academy of sciences (Leopoldina), the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Academia Europaea.