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IMPACTT Newsletter | October 2023
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Welcome to our October 2023 IMPACTT newsletter. Keep reading for news, events, and publications in the microbiome world.
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IMPACTT Mentorship Program
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Applications open on Nov 1, 2023 for our IMPACTT Mentorship Program! If you’re a postdoc, research associate, or early career faculty in a microbiome-related field (or know someone who is), this is an excellent opportunity to get paired with an established researcher who can mentor you on your way to new career heights! Learn more and apply here.
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Having IMPACTT Symposium
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Registration & abstract submissions open on Dec 1, 2023 for our Having IMPACTT 4 Symposium, which will be held June 3-5, 2024 at the Malcolm Hotel in Canmore, AB! More details are released all the time, so head to our symposium webpage to sign up for updates and we’ll make sure you don’t miss any deadlines.
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IMPACTT TEAM & NETWORK NEWS
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Dr. Braedon McDonald (IMPACTT Education & Mentorship Co-Lead) was awarded a Killam Emerging Research Leader Award by the University of Calgary, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to critical care medicine in his first 10 years post-PhD. Read more about Dr. McDonald’s research and all three recipients here. Congratulations!
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New Publications in the Microbiome World
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Kusakabe et al. Nature Immunology. 23 Oct 2023.
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Highlights: Severe COVID-19 infection can involve altered gut barrier dysfunction and changes in gut microbial composition, not just for gut bacteria but also for gut fungi (“mycobiome”). In this study, the researchers found that COVID-19 patients had elevated levels of anti-fungal antibodies compared to healthy controls, despite no evidence of fungal infection. Furthermore, patients with severe COVID-19 had higher levels of Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae IgG antibodies compared to healthy controls. The same trend was not observed for antibodies related to lung- and skin-resident fungi, suggesting that anti-fungal antibodies in patients with COVID-19 were elicited by a specific subset of the gut microbiota. Looking more closely at the gut mycobiome composition, they found that patients with COVID-19 had increased fungal load but decreased fungal diversity in fecal samples compared to healthy controls, with an increased relative abundance of Candida spp. in COVID-19 patients. Patients with severe COVID-19 experienced transcriptional changes in anti-fungal immunity pathways and reprogramming of granulocyte myeloid progenitors (GMPs) for up to a year after infection. The researchers also measured immune responses to C. albicans colonization in mice, and the effects of anti-fungal treatments and biologics on the immune changes presumably caused by fungal pathobionts.
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Väinämö et al. Microbiology Spectrum. 26 Oct 2023.
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Highlights: Lactobacillus spp. are implicated in vaginal health, and previous studies have shown that women with Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota may have a higher chance of successful pregnancy compared to those with non-Lactobacillus dominance. In this study, the researchers investigated whether the vaginal microbiota composition has an effect on the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF), and whether any changes in vaginal microbiota composition could be observed between IVF embryo transfer and early pregnancy. They found that Lactobacillus crispatus was more abundant in women who achieved a clinical pregnancy and live birth following IVF compared to those who did not. Observed changes in vaginal microbiota from IVF embryo transfer to the early pregnancy period fell into one of three categories: (1) no change in Lactobacillus-dominated microbiota composition (52% of participants), (2) shift from one Lactobacillus species dominance to another (24% of participants), or (3) shift from a mixed community to a Lactobacillus-dominated community (24%). No participants shifted from a Lactobacillus-dominated community to a mixed community, which has been correlated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. These results demonstrate the importance of the beneficial L. crispatus species on pregnancy outcomes.
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New Publications from our IMPACTT Team and Network
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Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj (Platform 2 Lead), Dr. Padmaja Subbarao & Dr. Stuart Turvey (CMI2 Team Grant Leads)
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Wang et al. STEM Fellowship Journal. 19 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Merilee Brockway (IMPACTT Mentee) & Dr. Meghan Azad (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Brockway et al. Advances in Nutrition. 04 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Fiona Brinkman (Platform 5 Co-Lead) & Dr. Stuart Turvey (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Azeez et al. Epidemiology and Health. 13 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Aleixo Muise & Dr. Anne Griffiths (CMI2 Team Grant Leads)
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Uhlig et al. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 03 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Anne Griffiths & Dr. David Mack (CMI2 Team Grant Leads), & Dr. Eytan Wine (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
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DeBruyn et al. The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 03 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Padmaja Subbarao & Dr. Stuart Turvey (CMI2 Team Grant Leads)
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Foster et al. Environmental Research. 21 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Laura Sycuro (Platform 4 Lead)
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Oluoch et al. BMJ Open. 09 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Celia Greenwood (Platform 5 Lead)
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Lu et al. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 13 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Braedon McDonald (Education Co-Lead)
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Connor et al. PLOS Biology. 17 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Jayne Danska (Sex & Gender Lead)
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Xie et al. Science Translational Medicine. 25 Oct 2023.
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Dr. John Conly (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
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Conly & Loeb. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 05 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Jens Walter (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
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Sempio et al. Cereal Chemistry. 23 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Eytan Wine (IMPACTT Co-Applicant)
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Fard et al. Current Microbiology. 08 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Elder et al. Anaerobe. 02 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Robert Bandsma (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Wen et al. Communications Medicine. 29 Sep 2023.
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Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Imdad et al. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 02 Oct 2023.
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Shahil-Feroz et al. Informatics. 17 Oct 2023.
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Namburete et al. Nature. 25 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Gerald Giesbrecht (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Kee et al. JAMA Network Open. 26 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Anne Griffiths (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Geem et al. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 05 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Aleixo Muise (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Collen et al. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. 17 Oct 2023.
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Dr. Padmaja Subbarao (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Medeleanu et al. Cellular Immunology. 28 Sep 2023.
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Dr. Shazeen Suleman (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Kaur et al. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 29 Sep 2023.
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Dr. Stuart Turvey (CMI2 Team Grant Lead)
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Nguyen et al. Rheumatology. 18 Oct 2023.
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS
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Click here to see curated lists of upcoming events in the microbiome world
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IMPACTT Microbiome Standards
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Our four Microbiome Standards are ready to ship across Canada and internationally, and they’re FREE for Canadian labs. (Not in Canada? Just pay shipping.) Click here to learn more and sign up to receive your standards.
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Be a contributor to our microbiome community!
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