Eduardo Villablanca has received an ERC Synergy Grant for research that could explain acute intestinal diseases

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– We investigate how interactions between the microbiome (microorganisms in the body) and the host (human) influence health and disease. Most of these interactions occur in the gut, where a diverse microbiome resides, and disturbances in these interactions can lead to gut-related diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC), he says. Eduardo Villablancasenior researcher at Department of Medicine At the Karolinska Institutet in Solna.

Many studies have linked the microbiome to diseases centered in the intestine and diseases outside the intestine, but many of these studies are controversial because they use stool samples, which do not represent what is happening in the tissues.

We want to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the interaction between the host and microbes at the molecular level and with high resolution in the right tissues. Our team, which consists of me Stefania Giacomello At KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Sweden, Julio Saez Rodriguez At the University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany George Zeller A team of researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany will develop techniques to create a detailed, high-resolution map of host-microbiome interactions in gut tissue during health and disease.

Description of the application process.

– More than two years ago, we launched the project idea and formed a team of experts in the field of microbiome and data analysis. We brainstormed ideas about the project goals. One year before submission, we engaged members of our laboratory who generated preliminary data. We worked closely with the Karolinska Institutet Grants Office and submitted a proposal that we were satisfied with. We also conducted several mock interviews and met in Stockholm to prepare questions and answers.

-We have a lot to thank for their help in this process, especially the members of our lab who worked to generate the initial data.

What does the scholarship mean to you?

– The grant gives us the opportunity to work with the project in the best possible conditions, something we would not be able to do without this funding. We can devote time and resources to a complex issue, and for the first time see in detail how microbes and human cells work together in the gut.

– Obtaining the grant also means that many experts in our field believe in our project. This is important because the research covers different areas of expertise, and shows that our question is relevant and of great importance.

What do you expect to achieve after six years of the project?

We plan to create the first detailed functional map of how microbes and our bodies interact in the gut. We will also examine causal relationships and make predictions using computational models.

We hope to push the boundaries of mucosal microbiology and immunology and change the way we study host-microbe interactions. Finally, we want to use the knowledge to develop new and improved ways to treat intestinal diseases more effectively.