Future of the Microbiome
2026 Winter Summit

In this presentation, Marcelline Goyen, BSc Dermal Therapy and author, draws on 20 years of clinical experience alongside extensive review of the scientific literature conducted during the development of her books on the skin-gut axis. Through illustrative cases involving chronic eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, and gastrointestinal complaints, she explores how a broader clinical assessment may reveal patterns and associations that are not always apparent from a skin-focused perspective alone.

Using real-world examples, the session examines a key clinical question: can a skin-gut approach be integrated into protocol-driven care, or does it require a more individualized process of assessment, investigation, interpretation, and intervention?

Receipt of breast milk is the main driver of infant microbiome composition and can protect against multiple pathologies, through the provision of bioactive factors. These include human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which are carbohydrates that cannot be digested by the infant host but are instead metabolised by a narrow group of gut bacteria. But the full scope of HMO-utilising species that colonise preterm infants remains unclear.

Through combining multi-omics and patient-derived intestinal organoid models, we show for the first time that Clostridium species isolated from preterm infants, in particular Clostridium perfringens, metabolise HMOs, producing a range of beneficial metabolites. Furthermore, cell-free supernatants from these strains showed inhibitory effects on common infant pathobionts, generally promoted growth of beneficial microbes and suppressed the inflammatory response in an organoid co-culture model.

These findings reveal a previously undescribed role for C. perfringens strains in gut microbiome-mediated immune education during early life, expand our understanding of HMO-metabolising microbes and lay the groundwork for novel prebiotic and postbiotic therapies."

Owing to this increasing popularity, there is a growing demand for controlled and standardised production on an industrial scale. However, industrial-scale production remains a challenge due to the limited knowledge of the biological interactions of the microbial consortia and the lack of defined starter cultures. This presentation will discuss the application of microbial culturing and ‘omics technologies, coupled with bioinformatics analysis, to attempt to deliver improved defined microbial communities for food fermentations.

This session will explore how breastfeeding, maternal secretor status, and specific HMOs are associated with the infant gut resistome. By connecting human cohort findings with mechanistic and experimental approaches, this research aims to uncover how human milk can help shape early-life microbial communities and inform new strategies to prevent antimicrobial resistance.

In this session, I will present findings from a tightly controlled, randomized crossover feeding study comparing a high-fiber, minimally processed Microbiome Enhancer Diet with a calorie- and macronutrient-matched low-fiber Western Diet. Using global metabolomics across feces, fasting serum, and 24-hour urine, we identified distinct metabolomic signatures associated with diet-driven microbiome remodeling and energy balance phenotypes. Metabolite network analyses revealed signatures associated with greater energy absorption and lower microbial biomass. Meanwhile, a Microbiome Enhancer Diet induced metabolomic shifts consistent with increased microbial metabolism of dietary substrates such as polyphenols, greater fecal energy loss, and a metabolic profile characterized by increased ketogenesis—a metabolic feature seen in fasting—relative to a Western Diet. These findings provide new insight into host-diet-microbiome interactions and highlight potential mechanisms through which high-fiber diets may influence energy absorption, microbial growth, and obesity-related metabolic pathways. The session will also discuss the potential for metabolomic biomarkers to improve the scalability and translational impact of microbiome-targeted dietary interventions.

Ana’s presentation will explore the foundations of effective science communication in the biotics industry.

It will cover everything from understanding your audience and organizing your scientific evidence to communicating clinical and preclinical research, developing clear mechanism-of-action narratives, navigating claims, and translating science into effective content and visual communication.

It will also look beyond creating individual materials to explore how SEO, social media, email, AI search, industry events, and a strong company presence can help make your scientific expertise more discoverable and credible.

Key topics include:

Why biotics science communication is uniquely challenging

The five prerequisites for effective biotics science communication

How to communicate clinical and preclinical research without overclaiming

Turning scientific evidence into clear narratives and meaningful MoA stories

Choosing the right content format for different audiences and objectives

The role of compliance in science-led marketing and education

Using visual communication to make complex microbiome science easier to understand

Building a credible digital presence around scientific expertise

SEO, social media, email, and AI search as extensions of science communication

The goal is to communicate the unique science behind your products, technologies, and expertise to the audiences that matter to your business, using the right formats and channels to reach them. That's why science communication is strategic, and it shouldn't be treated as just another task to add to your marketing or science department.

While this presentation is geared toward the biotics industry, the principles discussed can also be applied more broadly to science communication across health, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and related industries.

Among these, prebiotics offer a promising and accessible approach to support gastrointestinal health, immune function, recovery, and potentially athletic performance.
This presentation will provide an overview of the current evidence surrounding prebiotic supplementation in sport and exercise, examining findings from both laboratory and applied studies. The talk will explore proposed mechanisms of action, including modulation of the gut microbiome, enhancement of gut barrier integrity, and effects on host metabolism and immune function. Current challenges and limitations within the evidence base will also be discussed.
Finally, the presentation will consider future directions for research and practice, highlighting opportunities for personalised nutrition, and microbiome-targeted strategies to support athlete health and performance. The session will provide attendees with a balanced perspective on where the field stands today and where future advances may shape the application of prebiotics in sport and exercise."