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MENA Microbiome
From Biomarkers Discovery
to Microbiota-based Therapeutics

Date: 28-29 September 2024
Venue: The Plaza Doha

Overview /Agenda

Agenda

All Sessions Day 1: September 28, 2024 Day 2: September 29, 2024
7:00 – 8:00 am Registration/Check-in
Time Speaker Talk Title
8:00 – 8:15 am Dr. Souhaila Al Khodor, MENA Microbiome Chair

Dr. Annalisa Terranegra, MENA Microbiome Chair

Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer, Sidra Medicine

 Welcome Notes
8:15 – 8:30 am Dr. Rayana Bou Haka
Head of Office World Health Organization- Qatar

Dr. Muna Al Maslamani
Medical Director of Communicable Disease Center
Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar

 Opening remarks
8:30 – 8:45 am Dr. Sara Abdulla,
Research Program Expert,
Qatar Research Development and Innovation
Qatar Foundation		 Overview and Highlights from QRDI
8:45 – 10:30 am Session I: Keeping the balance between health and disease – Role of the Microbiome

Learning objectives:

  • Describe how the microbiome impacts our overall health.
  • Demonstrate the role of the microbiome in chronic gastrointestinal diseases such as pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
  • Extend to the role of salivary microbiome in patients with chronic diseases.

Session Chairs:

  • Dr. Sonia Davila, Executive Director, Translational Medicine, Sidra Medicine
  • Dr. Chiara Cugno, A/Executive Director, Core Facilities, Sidra Medicine
8:45 – 9:30 am Prof. Alessio Fasano
Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA		 Keynote Lecture:

Microbiome, Gut Permeability, And Immune Response: The Triangulation Dictating the Balance Between Health and Disease
9:30 – 9:55 am Dr. Souhaila Al Khodor
Director of the Reproductive and Perinatal Health Division
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Multi-Omics of microbial and host factors for a better understanding of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease
9:55 – 10:20 am Dr. Farah Al-Marzooq
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
United Arab Emirates University, UAE		 Salivary microbiome signature in patients with Crohn’s disease
10:20 – 10:30 am Dr. Muhammed Manzoor Allippara
Post doctoral fellow
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases University of Helsinki, Finland		 Short oral talk: Oral microbiome signature in patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke
10:30 – 11:00 am Coffee break

Poster viewing and exhibition visit
11:00 am – 2:00 pm Session II: Diet, Lifestyle & the Microbiome

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the effect of diet on the microbiome composition.
  • Explain how dietary intakes are measured.
  • Illustrate the relationship between diet and the microbiome in chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Session Chairs:

  • Prof. Maya Bassil, Head of Human Nutrition Department, Qatar University
  • Dr. Katie El-Nahas, Head of Dietetics, Qatar Diabetes Association, Qatar Foundation
11:00 – 11:25 am Dr. Heli Viljakainen
Folkhälsan Research Center, Public Health
Research Program, Finland		 Associations of central Childhood obesity and habitual food consumption with saliva microbiota and its enzymatic profiles.
11:25 – 11:50 am Dr. Vibeke H. Telle-Hansen
Associate Professor
Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway		 Testing the beneficial effect of PUFA on the microbiome and cholesterol levels in healthy individuals: A randomized crossover trial.
11:50 am – 12:00 pm Dr. Arun Lakshmanan
Staff Scientist, Precision Nutrition
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Short oral talk: Gut Microbiota as an early biomarker of Graft-versus-Host Disease in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: The impact of BMI and conditioning regimes
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch

Poster viewing and judging
1:00 – 1:25 pm Dr. Annalisa Terranegra
Principal Investigator Precision Nutrition
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Precision nutrition approach to pediatric type 1 diabetes
1:25 – 1:50 pm Dr. Mohammad T Albataineh
Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences
Khalifa University, UAE		 Uncovering the relationship between gut microbial dysbiosis, metabolomics, and dietary intake in type 2 diabetes mellitus and in healthy volunteers
1:50 – 2:00 pm Dr. Amani Al Khaifi
Assistant Professor, college of Medicine and Health Sciences
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman		 Short oral talk: Unveiling the role of microbiota metabolites in premature coronary artery disease: a case-control study
2:00 – 5:00 pm Session III: Bugs as drugs: Microbiome-based Therapeutics

Learning objectives:

  • Explain the definition of prebiotics, probiotics and symbiotics.
  • Illustrate the use of microbes as therapeutics options.
  • Demonstrate how treating with microbes affects IBD, autism and obesity.

Session Chairs:

  • Prof. Alessio Fasano, Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Harvard Medical School
  • Prof. Ibrahim A. Janahi, Division chief and senior attending, Pediatric Pulmonology, Sidra Medicine
2:00 – 2:25 pm Dr. Amine Zorgani
Founder – The Microbiome Mavericks Consultant Biocodex Microbiota Institute, Belgium		 Microbiome therapeutics: Past, Present, and Future
2:25 – 2:50 pm Dr. Mamoun Elawad
Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Faecal Material Transplantation in Inflammatory Bowel disease
2:50 – 3:15 pm Prof. Sunny Wong
Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore		 Effects of Synbiotic Supplementation on Metabolic Syndrome Traits and Gut Microbial Profile among Overweight and Obese Hong Kong Chinese Individuals: A Randomized Trial
3:15 – 3:45 pm Coffee Break

Poster viewing and exhibition visit
3:45 – 4:10 pm Dr. Elisabetta Volpe
Head of Molecular Neuroimmunology Laboratory
IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Italy		 Microbiome in Pediatric Autism: can microbial intervention improve the social behaviour?
4:10 – 4:35 pm Dr. Nezar Al-Hebshi
Associate Professor- Co Director, Oral Microbiome Research Laboratory
Temple University, PA, USA		 Role of the Oral Microbiome in Health and Disease: can we quantify dysbiosis?
4:35 – 5:00 pm Prof. Marvin Edeas
Department Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes
Université de Paris, INSERM, Institute Cochin, France		 Targeting Microbiota Dysbiosis: Barriers and Perspectives
5:00 – 5:45 pm Panel Discussion

Prof. Emmanuelle Maguin, Prof. Nahla Mansour, Dr. Mohammad T Albataineh, Dr. Amine Zorgani, Dr. Ahmed Moustafa

  • Fostering collaboration in the MENA region.
  • Creating the MENA Human Microbiome Consortium.
5:45 – 6:00 pm Closing remarks for Day 1

7:00 – 8:00 am Registration/Check-in
8:00 am – 12:00 pm Session IV: The Gut Microbiome: Connecting Health Across Organs  

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the microbiome composition of a healthy gut.
  • Summarize the different members of the gut microbiome.
  • Evaluate the application of systems biology approaches to study the microbiome.

Session Chairs:

  • Prof. Hilal Lashuel, Advisor to the Chairperson & Executive Director of RDI, Qatar Foundation
  • Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer, Sidra Medicine
8:00 – 8:45 am Prof. Peer Bork
Director of EMBL Heidelberg, Germany		 Keynote Lecture II:

Gut microbiome analysis for human health and wellbeing
8:45 – 9:10 am Prof. Emmanuelle Maguin
Director, French National Institute for Agriculture, Food,
and Environment (INRAE), France		 The food and microbiome interplay for health
9:10 – 9:35 am Dr. Amelia McGuinness
Associate Research Fellow,
Deakin University, Australia		 The Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis: The Bacteriome and Beyond
9:35 – 10:00 am Dr. Gregory Tasian
Attending Pediatric Urologist, Division of Urology
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, USA		 The Gut-Kidney Axis of Kidney Stone Disease: A Pathway to Novel Diagnostics and Therapeutics
10:00 – 10:30 am Coffee break

Poster viewing and exhibition visit
Session Chairs:

  • Dr. Mamoun Elawad, Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Sidra Medicine
  • Dr. Amine Zorgani, Consultant, Biocodex Microbiota Institute, Belgium
10:30 – 10:55 am Prof. Nahla Mansour
Professor of Microbial Molecular Biology
National Research Center, Egypt		 Gut Microbiome Analysis in Type 2 Diabetes Egyptians: Towards Personalized Medicine
10:55 – 11:00 am Miss Shaikha Al Abduljabbar
Research Specialist, Precision Nutrition,
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Patient Journey: Manipulation of the microbiome through diet can improve clinical outcomes: A story from an IBD-Autistic patient at Sidra Medicine
11:00 – 11:25 am Dr. Mohammad Tauqeer Alam
Assistant Professor, Biology Department,
UAE University, UAE		 Identifying microbial markers for gut microbiome associated diseases using systems biology approaches
11:25 – 11:50 pm Prof Mohammad Issa El Mouzan
Professor of Pediatrics, College of Medicine,
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia		 Gut virome and Mycobiome in Saudi pediatric population
11:50 – 12:00 pm Ms. Daliya Abubakar
Research specialist
Microbiome and Biomarker Discovery
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Short oral talk: Profiling of the Blood Virome in Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch Break

Poster viewing and judging
1:00 – 3:30 pm Session V: Microbiome in Women and neonatal Health

Learning objectives:

  • List the major vaginal microbes in healthy women
  • Explain the major microbiome changes during pregnancy
  • Describe the role of the microbiome in prematurity

Session Chairs:

  • Prof Johnny Awwad, Chair of Women’s Services, Division Chief, Reproductive Medicine, Sidra Medicine
  • Dr. Lolwa Al Ansari, Senior Consultant and Head of OB/GYN, Al Wakra Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation
1:00 -1:25 pm Prof. Phillip Bennett
Director of Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Imperial College London, UK		 Microbiome aspects of fertility, miscarriage, and preterm birth
1:25 – 1:35 pm Miss Salma H Ahmed
Research Specialist,
Precision Nutrition
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Short oral talk: The interference of gut & vaginal microbiome on blastocysts formation: the role of health and unhealthy dietary patterns
1:35 – 2:00 pm Dr. Maha Al Asmakh
Department Head of Biomedical Sciences Associate Professor,
Qatar University, Qatar		 Salivary Microbiome in pregnancy
2:00 – 2:10 pm Miss Noora Al Mohannadi
Research specialist
Microbiome and Biomarker Discovery
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Short oral talk: Oral microbiome and immunity in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: A pilot study
2:10 – 2:20 pm Mrs Maysa Niazy
Department of Pathobiology,
University of Guelph, Canada		 Short oral talk: Know thy neighbours: Latent topics for studying vaginal microbial communities
2:20 – 2:45 pm Dr. Jaime Garcia Mena
Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology
Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico		 Maternal immunoglobulins differentially bind the bacterial community in human colostrum and stool of breastfed neonates.
2:45 – 2:55 pm Dr. Parul Singh
Research specialist
Microbiome and Biomarker Discovery
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Short oral talk: Maternal breastmilk selectively seeds the infant gut microbiota and preterm birth impacts the transfer of breastmilk microbes to the infant gut.
2:55 – 3:20 pm Prof. Erika Isolauri
Professor of Pediatrics
Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
University of Turku, Finland		 Resilience to risk exposures in the preterm child through the microbiome
3:20 – 3:30 pm Dr. Tracy Augustine
Post Doctoral Fellow
Laboratory of Immunoregulation,
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Short oral talk: Altered immunoglobulin-coating patterns to gut bacteria in pediatric cow milk allergies reveal unique disease-specific microbial signatures
3:30 – 4:00 pm Coffee Break

Poster viewing and exhibition visit
4:00 – 5:25 pm Session VI: Microbiome in Cancer and beyond
Learning objectives:

  • Define the role of microbiome in cancer
  • Explain the tumor microenvironment
  • Describe the role of the microbiome in antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease

Session Chairs:

  • Dr. Souhaila Al Khodor, Chair
  • Dr. Annalisa Terranegra, Chair
4:00 – 4:25 pm Dr. Wouter Hendrickx
Principal Investigator, Tumor Biology and Immunology Lab,
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 From Atlas to Action: The Microbiome Risk Score, Colon cancer immune infiltrate from Human to Mice and back.
4:25 – 4:35 pm Dr. Animesh Acharjee
Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences
University of Birmingham
United Kingdom		 Short oral talk: Microbiome-based colon cancer patient stratification and survival analysis
4:35 – 5:00 pm Dr. Ahmed Moustafa
Sequencing Core Director of the Microbiome Center,
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, USA		 Empowering Global Disease Surveillance: Leveraging Microbial Genomics, Big Data Mining, and Environmental Microbiome Analysis to Understand Infectious Diseases
5:00 – 5:25 pm Dr. Ibrahim Hassan
Senior attending Physician, Microbiology and Virology,
Sidra Medicine, Qatar		 Antimicrobial stewardship and microbiome in the pediatric population: Where are we?
5:25 – 5:50 pm Closing remarks for Day 2
&
Best Abstracts Award Announcement		 MENA Microbiome conference Chairs