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IMPACTT Newsletter | June 2024
Dear ,
Welcome to our June 2024 IMPACTT newsletter. Keep reading for news, events, and publications in the microbiome world.

IMPACTT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Having IMPACTT 4 Symposium

Thank you to everyone who attended, presented at, and sponsored our Having IMPACTT 4 Symposium on June 3-5, 2024. The event was a huge success thanks to you!
Congratulations to the winners of our presenter awards!
Postdoctoral Travel Award: Dr. Erik Bakkeren (Oxford Uni)
Graduate Travel Award: Juan Burckhardt (UBC)
Best Flash Talk: Kathryn Strayer (U Calgary)
Best Short Talk: Juan Burckhardt (UBC)
1st Place Poster: Jacqueline Barnett (UBCO)
2nd Place Poster: Emily Mercer (U Calgary)
3rd Place Poster: Hans Ghezzi (UBC)

Having IMPACTT 5 Symposium

Save the Date! Our Having IMPACT 5 Symposium will be held on Sep 22-24, 2025 at the Malcolm Hotel in Canmore, AB, Canada. Check out our website for new details and sign up for updates while you’re there so you don’t miss out!

IMPACTT Newsletter Hiatus

Our monthly IMPACTT newsletter may be taking a short hiatus until the new year, so if you don’t see us in your inbox in the coming months, don’t worry! We’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming in no time.

IMPACTT TEAM & NETWORK NEWS
Dr. Markus Geuking’s (Education & Mentorship Lead) postdoc was awarded a 3-year CIHR postdoctoral fellowship to work on ‘Exploring the effects of gut microbial and viral shared epitopes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease’. Congratulations!
Dr. Fiona Brinkman (Platform 5 Co-Lead) is giving the opening keynote talk on Sensitive Sustainable Science at the 32nd Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) in Montréal, Québec on July 12, 2024. This conference is organized by the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) and will be held on July 12-16, 2024 at the Montréal Convention Centre.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

New Publications in the Microbiome World
Island biogeography theory provides a plausible explanation for why larger vertebrates and taller humans have more diverse gut microbiomes
Ramos Sarmiento et al. The ISME Journal. 21 Jun 2024.
Highlights: Previous research has found positive correlations between vertebrate body size/human height and gut microbiome alpha diversity. In this study, the researchers expanded these observations to several large data sets, including the American Gut cohort, and applied island biogeography theory (IBT), which predicts that larger islands will have more species diversity. They found that that this positive size-diversity relationship exists independently of relevant covariates such as diet, BMI, age, sex, bowel movement frequency, antibiotic usage, and cardiometabolic health markers. They also observed that both lower alpha diversity and shorter stature were risk factors for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). In summary, the researchers were able to show that the positive scaling between body size and gut alpha diversity can be plausibly explained by a gut-adapted IBT and may be related to CDI risk, although more research is needed to validate these findings.
Gut Microbiome Alterations Accompany Metabolic Normalization Following Bariatric Surgery in ROHHAD Syndrome
Granato et al. [including IMPACTT Sex & Gender Lead Dr. Jayne Danska as senior author] JCEM Case Reports. 03 Jun 2024.
Highlights: In this case study, a patient with rapid onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic, and autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD) was treated with bariatric surgery and followed for 48 months. ROHHAD syndrome in childhood is characterized by abrupt onset weight gain and dysautonomia with variable neuroendocrine involvement, and the primary management strategy for patients is currently symptom control. The researchers found that following surgery, the patient showed a reduction in BMI, evidence in weaning of insulin, and an improvement of other metabolic profiles and physical symptoms. They also found that the stool bacterial abundance and composition shifted in longitudinal samples following surgery, including an increase in the relative abundance of both Bacteroidota and Firmicutes at 3 years post-surgery, compared to baseline. This case report describes the first successful correction of obesity, dysautonomia, and metabolic derangement in a patient with ROHHAD following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, suggesting that it could be a potentially effective treatment for correcting the metabolic disruption of ROHHAD syndrome, producing long-term changes in gut microbiome composition and biomass.

New Publications from our IMPACTT Team and Network
Dr. Kathy McCoy (IMPACTT Director & Platform 1 Lead) & Dr. Aline Ignacio (IMPACTT Mentee)
Early life microbiome influences on development of the mucosal innate immune system
Ignacio et al. Seminars in Immunology. 23 May 2024.
Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj (Platform 2 Lead) & Dr. Irina Dinu (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
A Comprehensive Performance Comparison Study of Various Statistical Models that Accommodate Challenges of the Gut Microbiome Data
Hajihosseini et al. Statistics in Biosciences. 31 May 2024.
Dr. Karen Madsen (Platform 3 Lead), Dr. Bruce Vallance, Dr. Anne Griffiths, Dr. Michael Surette, Dr. David Mack (CMI2 Team Grant Leads)
Environmental Factors Associated with Risk of Crohn’s Disease Development in the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada - Genetic, Environmental, Microbial Project
Xue et al. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 16 May 2024.
Dr. Anne Griffiths, Dr. Aleixo Muise, Dr. David Mack (CMI2 Team Grant Leads), and Dr. Eytan Wine (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
Landscape of TPMT and NUDT15 Pharmacogenetic Variation in a Cohort of Canadian Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients
Kennedy et al. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 24 May 2024.
Dr. Anne Griffiths & Dr. David Mack (CMI2 Team Grant Leads)
Mental Health Experiences of Adolescents and Young Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease During Transition to Adult Care: A Qualitative Descriptive Study
Allemang et al. The Journal of Pediatrics. 28 May 2024.
Dr. Padmaja Subbarao & Dr. Stuart Turvey (CMI2 Team Grant Leads)
Stress and anxiety during pregnancy and length of gestation: a federated study using data from five Canadian and European birth cohorts
Bergeron et al. Reproductive Epidemiology. 28 May 2024.
Dr. André Marette (CMI2 Team Grant Lead) & Dr. Nicole Beauchemin (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
Regulation of PPARγ2 Stability and Activity by SHP-1
Kumar et al. Molecular and Cellular Biology. 03 Jun 2024.
Dr. Eytan Wine (IMPACTT Co-Applicant) & Dr. Anne Griffiths (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Serum Metabolites Relate to Mucosal and Transmural Inflammation in Paediatric Crohn Disease
Suarez et al. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis. 06 Jun 2024.
Dr. Philippe Gros (Platform 1 Co-Lead)
In vivo CRISPR screens reveal SCAF1 and USP15 as drivers of pancreatic cancer
Martinez et al. Nature Communications. 20 Jun 2024.
Dr. Celia Greenwood (Platform 5 Lead)
Circulating Metabolite Abundances Associated With Risks of Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Depression: A Mendelian Randomization Study
Lu et al. Biological Psychiatry. 03 May 2024.
Dr. Braedon McDonald (Education Co-Lead)
Pathogenesis and therapeutic opportunities of gut microbiome dysbiosis in critical illness
Cho et al. Gut Microbes. 23 May 2024.
Dr. Jayne Danska (Sex & Gender Lead)
Cracking the type 1 diabetes code: Genes, microbes, immunity, and the early life environment
Yau & Danska. Immunological Reviews. 21 Jun 2024.
Dr. John Conly (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
Real-world evidence of sotrovimab effectiveness for preventing severe outcomes in patients with COVID-19: A quality improvement propensity matched retrospective cohort study of a pan-provincial program in Alberta, Canada
Farmer et al. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 14 Jun 2024.
Dr. Janet Hill (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
Identification of genetic markers of resistance to macrolide class antibiotics in Mannheimia haemolytica isolates from a Saskatchewan feedlot
Deschner et al. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 12 Jun 2024.
Dr. Jens Walter (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
Adaptation to tolerate high doses of arabinoxylan is associated with fecal levels of Bifidobacterium longum
Deehan et al. Gut Microbes. 11 Jun 2024.
Dr. Benjamin Willing (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
Drought and defoliation affect soil extracellular enzyme activity in northern temperate grasslands
Rajper et al. Journal of Arid Environments. 02 Jun 2024.
Dr. Robert Bandsma (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Hospital readmission following acute illness among children 2–23 months old in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: a secondary analysis of CHAIN cohort
The Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) Network. eClinical Medicine. 06 Jun 2024.
Dermatological changes in a prospective cohort of acutely ill, hospitalised Malawian children, stratified according to nutritional status
van den Brink et al. BMJ Paediatrics Open. 08 Jun 2024.
Hepatic mitochondrial and peroxisomal alterations in acutely ill malnourished Malawian children: a postmortem cohort study
Ling et al. Global Pediatrics. 22 Jun 2024.
Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
GBD 2021 Risk Factors Collaborators. The Lancet. 18 May 2024.
Promoting healthy school food environments and nutrition in Canada: a systematic review of interventions, policies, and programs
Carducci et al. Nutrition Reviews. 20 May 2024.

Understanding the determinants of anemia reduction among women of reproductive age: exemplar country case studies’ methodology
Owais et al. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 31 May 2024.
Dr. Gerald Giesbrecht (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Evaluation of the Association Between Prenatal Cannabis Use and Risk of Developmental Delay
Watts et al. JAACAP Open. 24 May 2024.
Intrapartum antibiotic use is associated with higher child body mass index (BMI) z-score at 4 years of age
Cho et al. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice. 24 May 2024.
Maternal pre-pregnancy diet and prenatal depression: The mediating role of pre-pregnancy weight status and prenatal inflammation
Vaghef-Mehrabani et al. British Journal of Nutrition. 27 May 2024.
Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI influences the associations between bisphenol and phthalate exposures and maternal weight changes and fat accumulation
Irvine et al. Environmental Research. 7 June 2024.
Dr. Anne Griffiths (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Ustekinumab in paediatric patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease: UniStar study long-term extension results
Turner et al. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 27 May 2024.
Dr. Jeremy Hirota (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
COVID-19 severity gradient differentially dysregulates clinically relevant drug processing genes in nasopharyngeal swab samples.
Nwabufo et al. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 26 Apr 2024.
Dr. Steven Kembel (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Host specificity of plant-associated bacteria is negatively associated with genome size and host abundance along a latitudinal gradient
Wang et al. Ecology Letters. 06 Jun 2024.
Dr. Wendy Lou (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Digital Interventions to Understand and Mitigate Stress Response: Protocol for Process and Content Evaluation of a Cohort Study
Martin et al. JMIR Research Protocols. 06 May 2024.
Adults with depressive symptoms have lower odds of dietary supplement use
Meshkat et al. PLOS One. 08 May 2024.
Depressive symptoms among adults is associated with decreased food security
Meshkat et al. PLOS One. 06 Jun 2024.
Dr. André Marette (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Integrated liver and serum proteomics uncover sexual dimorphism and alteration of several immune response proteins in an aging Werner syndrome mouse model
Aumailley et al. Aging. 24 May 2024.
HSDL2 links nutritional cues to bile acid and cholesterol homeostasis
Samson et al. Science Advances. 31 May 2024.
Effects of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 probiotic supplementation on circulating IGFBP-2 levels during a calorie-restricted diet in overweight humans
Faramia et al. Journal of Clinical & Translational Endocrinology. 11 Jun 2024.
Dr. Aleixo Muise (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Diet management in congenital diarrheas and enteropathies – general concepts and disease-specific approach, a narrative review
Avitzur et al. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 09 May 2024.
Elucidating the Role of SYK in the Intestinal Epithelium
Natu et al. Physiology. 21 May 2024.
Improved long-term outcome of children with congenital diarrhea followed by an intestinal rehabilitation program
Cohen et al. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 03 Jun 2024.
Dr. Thomas Murooka (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
An HIV-1 CRISPR-Cas9 membrane trafficking screen reveals a role for PICALM intersecting endolysosomes and immunity
Guizar et al. iScience. 27 May 2024.
Dr. John Parkinson (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
ToxoNet: A high confidence map of protein-protein interactions in Toxoplasma gondii
Swapna et al. PLOS Computational Biology. 20 Jun 2024.
Dr. Jonathan Schertzer (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
Intermittent fasting influences immunity and metabolism
Marko et al. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism. 07 May 2024.
Wearable Aptalyzer Integrates Microneedle and Electrochemical Sensing for In Vivo Monitoring of Glucose and Lactate in Live Animals
Bakhshandeh et al. Advanced Materials. 16 May 2024.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

Click here to see curated lists of upcoming events in the microbiome world
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