Bio
Dr. Gianfranco Picone is a food scientist and metabolomics expert at the University of Bologna (BIO-NMR Laboratories, DISTAL). He holds a European PhD in Food Science, Technology and Biotechnology and has extensive expertise in NMR-based metabolomics, foodomics, and multi-omics approaches applied to food quality, nutrition, digestion, and gut health. He has coordinated and participated in several national and EU-funded research projects, including the MABEL project, focusing on metabolomics and microbiota-related nutritional studies. Dr. Picone has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and serves as Academic Editor and Guest Editor for Foods and other international journals. His research supports the development of advanced analytical strategies for nutritional biochemistry, bioavailability, and precision nutrition.

Bio
Dr. Mattia Santoni is a Research Fellow at the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, and an Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry. He holds a PhD in Biotechnology, obtained at the University of Verona in 2023, following a Master’s degree in Agricultural and Food Biotechnology from the same institution. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Food Sciences at the University of Bologna in 2014. His research is conducted within the Biochemistry and Human Nutrition group and focuses on in vitro digestion models and the evaluation of nutritional component effects on the intestinal epithelial barrier using cellular models.

Talk
Cardiovascular disease accounts for about 32% of global deaths. Since 2011, high blood levels of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) have been recognized as a risk factor for atherosclerosis. TMAO is produced through a gut microbiome–host pathway in which bacterial cutC/D enzymes convert dietary choline into trimethylamine (TMA), which is then oxidized in the liver to TMAO. Elevated TMAO contributes to cardiovascular disease through several mechanisms, yet no FDA-approved therapies currently exist to reduce TMAO levels. Dietary phenolic compounds have emerged as a potential strategy, as they can modulate gut microbiota and are known for cardioprotective properties. Early in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that certain polyphenols—including chlorogenic acid, catechin, caffeic acid, and p-coumaric acid—as well as phenolic-rich foods like cocoa powder, artichoke, and blueberries, may reduce TMA and TMAO formation. Future research will focus on elucidating mechanisms and confirming efficacy in animal models and humans. TMA/TMAO reduction may represent a previously unrecognized pathway through which phenolics support cardiovascular health.

Bio
Dr. Neilson received his BS in Food Science from Brigham Young University in 2005 and his PhD in Food Science from Purdue University in 2009. He completed a postdoc in colon cancer prevention at the University of Michigan Medical School from 2009-11. Dr. Neilson was a faculty member at Virginia Tech from 2011-18 and moved to North Carolina State in 2019. Dr. Neilson’s research focuses on interactions between dietary bioactives and the gut microbiome and how such interactions affect human health. Recent interest focuses on how polyphenols can inhibit production of deleterious gut microbial metabolites such as trimethylamine N-oxide. He is an associate editor for the journal Food & Function and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).

Talk
Wilson’s disease (WD) is closely linked to alterations in the microbiota–liver axis. To explore this connection, the gut microbiota of WD patients was analyzed across two cohorts of 24 individuals and compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls using 16S rRNA sequencing and qPCR validation. WD patients showed significantly reduced levels of Akkermansia muciniphila, a beneficial species involved in maintaining gut barrier integrity and regulating metabolic and hepatic functions. Experimental cultures revealed that A. muciniphila cannot survive in the presence of zinc acetate—one of the standard treatments for WD—and exhibits markedly reduced growth in the presence of D-penicillamine, an effect that can be reversed by CuSO₄ supplementation. These results suggest that the diminished abundance of A. muciniphila in WD is largely driven by pharmacological therapy. The study highlights the potential of developing probiotic-based interventions to support metabolic and hepatic health in WD patients by restoring A. muciniphila levels.

Bio
Dr. Carmen Espinós (ID ORCID: 0000-0003-4435-1809), Vice Dean of the Official College of Biologists of the Valencian Community, holds a PhD in Biology and her research has focused on characterizing the molecular basis of rare diseases. She is currently a professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of Valencia and a researcher affiliated with the INCLIVA Health Research Institute. She leads the GeBi laboratory (Genetics and Biomarkers of Rare Diseases), and her lines of research include: (1) Genetic basis of rare movement disorders; (2) miRNA and microbiota biomarkers for Wilson's disease; (3) Characterization of a miRNA signature for the diagnosis of epilepsy. She collaborates closely with patient associations and is the president of the Alliance for Translational Research in Rare Diseases of the Valencian Community.

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Ischemic stroke disrupts the brain–immune–gut axis and frequently leads to post-stroke infections (PSIs), a major cause of mortality. Once thought to be primarily nosocomial, PSIs are now known to arise largely from bacterial translocation (BT) following gut barrier disruption. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), microbiota-derived metabolites, regulate the BIG axis and exert neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial effects. Using a preclinical stroke model, we show that stroke induces BT to multiple organs. Importantly, SCFA treatment reduced BT, improved gut barrier integrity, decreased brain lesion size, and enhanced functional recovery. These findings identify SCFAs as key modulators of the BIG axis and a promising therapeutic strategy to mitigate infection-related complications after stroke.

Bio
Dr. Julia Castillo González, obtained her PhD in Biomedicine in Dr González-Rey's Lab in 2024 at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Granada, Spain, where she investigated the role of neuropeptides in neuroinflammation and blood–brain barrier disruption in stroke. In 2024, she joined Prof Lorenz Hirt's Lab in the Lausanne University Hospital as a postdoctoral fellow supported by a Ramón Areces Foundation Fellowship, where she study bacterial translocation after stroke and the role of short-chain fatty acids. In 2026, she was awarded a Transition Grant from the University of Lausanne to start her independent research career.

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This study employed selected high-efficacy lipid-lowering probiotics and Bletilla striata polysaccharide prebiotics to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of probiotic, prebiotic, synbiotic, and postbiotic dietary interventions on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice using multi-omics technologies. The results demonstrated that dietary interventions significantly reduced body weight, blood lipids (TC, TG,and LDL-C), fasting blood glucose, and liver injury markers (ALT and AST) in obese mice. Concurrently, they elevated serum HDL-C levels, ameliorated adipocyte hypertrophy, and attenuated hepatic lipid deposition. Hepatic transcriptomics revealed that HFD significantly disrupted lipid metabolism pathways. Differentially expressed genes were primarily enriched in steroid hormone biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Prebiotic, synbiotic, and postbiotic interventions upregulated genes associated with steroid hormone and steroid biosynthesis (e.g., Soat1, Ugt1a5, Dhcr7), thereby alleviating obesity. Probiotic intervention upregulated the Cyp4a10 gene to mitigate obesity. Metabolomic analysis indicated that the interventions upregulated metabolites such as creatine, glutamine, and pantothenic acid, ameliorating hepatic metabolic disorders via the alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathway and the TCA cycle. Gut microbiota analysis demonstrated that HFD induced gut dysbiosis, whereas probiotic, synbiotic, and postbiotic interventions restored microbial homeostasis. Metabolomics further showed that dietary interventions increased fecal levels of lactate, creatine, xylose, valerate, citrate, and sarcosine. These metabolites were predominantly associated with glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism; the TCA cycle; primary bile acid biosynthesis; and taurine and hypotaurine metabolism.

Bio
Dr. Chenglin Zhu, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Department of Food Science and Health, College of Pharmacy and Food Science, Southwest Minzu University, holds a PhD in Food Science and Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy (funded by the China Scholarship Council). He is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Postdoctoral Scientific Research Workstation of Luzhou Laojiao, a High-level Returned Overseas Scholar of Sichuan Province, and a member of the Sichuan Society for Microbiology. He is also honored as the 2024 Sichuan Top Ten Excellent Science Popularization Envoys. His research has focused on the quality control and functional development of food based on multi-omics technologies, and he is currently engaged in teaching and research work at Southwest Minzu University. His lines of research include: (1) Application of multi-omics technologies in quality control of traditional fermented foods; (2) Molecular interaction mechanisms between gut microbiota and their small-molecule metabolites (e.g., short-chain fatty acids); (3) Screening of probiotics and the effects of fermentation on the flavor and nutritional quality of foods. He has presided over more than 10 provincial and ministerial-level scientific and technological projects, published more than 50 papers in domestic and foreign core journals, and serves as a young editorial board member and reviewer for several SCI journals including Industrial Crops and Products and Food Chemistry: X.

Talk
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of innovative bakery products tailored for specific condition, incorporating alternative proteins such as insect powder, algae flour, hemp seed bran and antioxidant vegetal by-products on the human gut microbiota (GM) using a standardized in vitro colonic model and omic outputs. The focus was triple: assessing microbiome and metabolome modulation, identifying processing strategies (e.g., sourdough fermentation) that mitigate potential dysbiosis and strengthen the applicability of in vitro GM models to replace animals testing in food science, as indicated by major regulatory agencies.

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Lorenzo Nissen is an Associate Professor in Microbiology for Human Nutrition. He specializes in the interactions of the triad food-gut microbiota-host, featuring biotechnological simulations and omic analyses. He is one of the inventors of MICODE® (Multi-Unit In vitro Colon Model), a platform for studying food–gut microbiota interactions through in vitro models, omics approaches, and multivariate analyses. LN is also the WG1 Leader of the COST Action CA23110 INFOGUT (International Networking on In Vitro Colon Models). He serves as Associate Editor for several peer-reviewed journals, including Discover Foods, Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, Foods, Open Life Science, and Frontiers in Microbiology.