Alex is a postdoc working on microbiome research at the University Medical Center Groningen. His team aims to explore the interactions between the human microbiome and other kind of human ‘omics’ data to investigate the possible impact of the microbiota on human health.
Using data from the LifeLines-DEEP population cohort, they showed how the gut microbiome is shaped by external and intrinsic factors such as diet, medication and diseases (Zhernakova et al, Science, 2016). Now Alex is focusing on further analysis of the microbiome’s role in shaping human serum metabolism, which is the key element in many metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease events.
R. Gacesa, A. Kurilshikov, A. Vich Vila, T. Sinha, M.A.Y. Klaassen L.A. Bolte, S. Andreu-Sánchez, L. Chen, V. Collij, S. Hu, J.A.M. Dekens, V.C. Lenters, J.R. Björk, J.C. Swarte, M.A. Swertz, B.H. Jansen, J. Gelderloos-Arends, S. Jankipersadsing, M. Hofker, R.C.H. Vermeulen, S. Sanna, H.J.M. Harmsen, C. Wijmenga, J. Fu, A. Zhernakova, R.K. Weersma
Nature (2022)
Exposome-NL is a Dutch consortium of over fifty scientists from different disciplines, universities and medical centres. Together the scientists will systematically sequence the environmental factors influencing our health.
Read More