The ReSearch project is based on the hypothesis that perturbations in gut microbial colonization during the critical period of programming lead to lasting alterations in the immune and metabolic phenotype of the child. Characterization of the causes and mechanisms of these processes is the key to prevent global nutritional problems: both undernutrition and the obesity epidemic. The project aims to 1. Generate a complete picture of the impact of the maternal gut, respiratory tract and breast milk microbiota on child gut microbiota development. 2. Determine how maternal antibiotic exposure, caesarean section delivery or preterm birth alter the development of the child microbiota. 3. Identify the precise exposures and pathways leading to increased weight accumulation or growth failure and establishing causality through experimental studies. 4. Discover synbiotic interventions to compensate early microbiota perturbations by clinical trials and experimental studies.

2022

2026