Germany

• André Bleich, Marijana Basic Hannover Medical School, Institute for Laboratory Animal Science

  Our research group is interested in research topics including gnotobiology, infections models, and animal models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We are focusing on identification and verifyication of genetic and microbial factors contributing to the development of intestinal inflammation using variety of specific mutant mouse strains, intestinal organoid cultures and gnotobiotic animal models colonized with synthetic microbial communities.

• Pascal Falter-Braun Institute of Network Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen

• André Gessner, Andreas Hiergeist University Hospital Regensburg, Institute of Clinical Microbiology and Hygiene

• Antje Hebestreit, Maike Wolters Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen

  Our research on children's and adolescent's health and its determinants focus on lifestyle behaviours like diet, physical activity, and media use as well as on early life factors, such as birth weight, breastfeeding, infant feeding patterns, parental BMI, gestational hypertension, and BMI trajectories. Our research groups have extensive experience in the conduct of surveys and collection and analysis of health-related data including nutritional data via food frequency questionnaires and 24-hour dietary recalls, particularly in children in European and African settings. Additionally, we have comprehensive knowledge in the development and international implementation of SOPs covering the collection, processing and storage of biosamples. Based on the large European IDEFICS/I.Family cohort, we have provided age- and sex-specific reference values for anthropometric and cardiometabolic markers in children and adolescents and established a definition for the Metabolic Syndrome in children. We are experienced in the longitudinal analysis of cohort data with repeated measurements and in the assessment of trajectories of exposures and health outcomes.
  Our research groups investigate the causes and consequences of obesity and cardio-metabolic risk factors in children, adolescents, and young adults, which already form the basis for later metabolic diseases. Through this, we aim to identify the most promising prevention targets at a young age. We have many years of experience in the conduct of surveys and collection and analysis of health-related data including nutritional data via food frequency questionnaires and 24-hour dietary recalls. We also lead a study center of the biggest multi-center epidemiological cohort study conducted in Germany to date, the German National Cohort (NAKO health study), which aim is to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, and thus to detect measures for prevention. Biosamples from our epidemiological field studies are stored in the BIPS biobank which currently contains more than 100,000 blood, urine, stool and saliva samples as well as tissue materials and serve as a basis for current and future projects involving the analyses of biological materials. The samples and DNA collected in various studies are increasingly being used for the investigation of genetic, environmental and life-style associated factors in the aetiology and prognosis of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
  Our research groups are experienced in the assessment and analysis of physical activity and physical fitness in children, adolescents and adults. Several methodological studies were conducted in children and adults to compare different assessment methods, e.g. self-reported and objectively measured physical activity with accelerometry. We have also investigated the contribution of different domains like physical education in school or organized youth sports to the achievement of the physical activity recommendations. Additionally, we analyzed the association of physical activity with different health outcomes like obesity and bone stiffness in European children. In cooperation with our MyNewGut partners we are investigating cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between lifestyle factors including physical activity and the gut microbiota composition in European children with normal weight and overweight/ obesity. Furthermore, we have evaluated changes in the gut microbiota in relation to various factors such as nutrient intake and older age in literature reviews.

• Matthias Laudes University of Kiel, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Clinical Nutrition

  The main research focus of our working group over the past 15 years can be summarzied under the term “metabolic inflammation”. We have succeeded in detecting inflammatory changes in both adipose tissue and in the brain in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes, which interfere with the interaction of hormones, metabolism and nutritional factors and are thus decisively involved in the development of the disease. About 5 years ago we targeted the intestinal microbiome as a possible trigger of these systemic inflammatory processes, because we see great scientific potential here for the future development of innovative therapeutic strategies.

• Martin Meixner Amedes genetics GmbH, Berlin

• Ute Nöthlings Bonn University

• Tobias Pischon Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin

• Amélia Camarinha Silva University of Hohenheim, Institute of Animal Science, Stuttgart Link to external homepage

  Topic specific knowledge: Research focus on the phylogenetic and functional characterization of the complex microbiome that colonizes the digestive tract of humans and livestock and on the role of key organisms in general functions of the digestion processes.

• Michael Schloter Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen

  We study the development of the microbiome of children in response to their living environment by comparing children who live in urban spaces vs farming environments. We link microbiome data to the propability to allergies at later times of life.
  We make use of a well established cohort in Germany (Kora) which is part of the gErman National cohort to assess the impact of nutrition on the microbiome during aging. Focus is given on subjects in the age of 50+, where nutritional data is available and link conditions of health to gut microbiome data. This is done together with Marie Standl from the Institute of Epidemiology. Other groups of the Kora cohort are studied by Dirk Haller (TUM)
  We mostly investigate the influence of smoking on the development of inflamatory and chronic airways diseases. We link disease development to changes in the microbiome of the respiratory system (upper and lower airways system)

• Christian Trautwein University Clinic RWTH Aachen, Medical Clinic III

• Andreas Dötsch Max Rubner-Institut, Karlsruhe

  Research at the Max Rubner-Institut (MRI) is focused on safety and quality of food, and its impact on human nutrition and health. There is strong expertise in the execution of randomised controlled human intervention trials assessing the effects of food/diets on human physiology, bioavailability and bioactivity of food and food constituents. We are experienced in metabolomics of food and human samples, and characterization of the gut and food microbiota.