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Illuminating the microbiome for biomarker discovery at annual conference

Microba Life Sciences will feature at the Microbiome Data Congress 2021, with Head of Bioinformatics Operations Dr David Wood taking the stage to demonstrate how precise gut microbiome profiling produces the comprehensive metagenomic data needed for biomarker discovery.

The annual congress will be held online from 9-10 June, focusing on biostatistics and bioinformatics for modelling the microbiome and how utility and clinical insights can be gleaned from microbiome data.

Speaking on day two, Dr Wood will delve into the ‘dark matter’ of the microbiome and discuss the importance of precise measurement to access novel microbial signals for diagnostic and therapeutic discovery.

With 71 per cent of the human gut microbiome previously uncultured, the leading bioinformatician will explain how Microba has developed an analysis platform and genome database to uncover this microbial dark matter.

“Microba’s precision and comprehensive bioinformatics platform allows us to accurately identify previously unseen species and uncover which are associated with health or disease.”

Head of Bioinformatics Operations, Dr David Wood.

“We can then target these species as potential therapeutics which may lead to improved patient outcomes in the long term.”

Dr Wood will also discuss how Microba is leveraging these culture-free methods and bioinformatic approaches to provide unparalleled insight into the role of the microbiome in human health and disease.

“The microbiome contains thousands of species that are unknown or very poorly understood and this represents both a challenge and an opportunity,” he said.

“Combining Microba’s world-leading Microba Community Profiler and our growing Genome Database, we achieve 99 per cent precision with less false-positives.”

Head of Bioinformatics Operations, Dr David Wood.

“This provides higher levels of certainty for researchers who access our platform and can prevent them following false leads in critical research.”

Such innovations in gut microbiome profiling will drive research forward and lead to important advancements in medicine from the gut microbiome.

Dr Wood will also join the panel discussion “Exploring the Dark Matter of the Microbiome”, along with fellow panelists Sana Garmaeva and David Pride.

Dr Wood is a leading bioinformatician in Australia, and has led the development of many bioinformatic methodologies and data processing pipelines at Microba.

With over a decade of experience across both industry and academia and more than 30 scientific publications to his name, he will provide up-to-date perspectives on the powerful applications of metagenomics.

Dr Wood will provide delegates with a wealth of knowledge on the use and advancement of high-throughput genomics technologies and the opportunities from combining this big data with artificial intelligence.

About the event

The Microbiome Data Congress is held annually, bringing together leaders from academia and industry to discuss biostatistical methods and cutting-edge bioinformatic tools for advancing microbiome research and product commercialisation.

https://www.microbiome-data.com/