PRR Project

Summary

Microbiome impact on human health as well as in the emergence and progression of disease, is a topic gaining higher preponderance. Microbiota dysbiosis has been associated with numerous pathologies: oncological, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, mental disorders, and other communicable and non-communicable diseases. The boost in microbiome research was empowered by recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies, sensitive and precise technologies for profiling the metabolome, and bioinformatics. These technological developments put the gut microbiome in the landscape of human diseases.Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the most prevalent cause of death worldwide. The microbiota dysbiosis associated with CVD triggered the finding of gut microbiota-derived metabolites as disease mediators. Furthermore, the gut microbiota is also linked with inflammatory status and immune response. In this context, FMUP/RISE aims to recruit a Principal Investigator who would develop a research focus on the microbiome´s influence in CVD to identify microbial markers associated with disease progression and ultimately launch mechanistic candidates for explaining this interconnectivity.The candidate is also expected to advance the teaching of this topic, creating a curriculum unit and producing didactic material.In this framework, the Investigator will have the following tasks:Characterization of human microbiota, including mycobiota, in CVD patients or patients suffering from CVD risk factors, like hypertension, obesity, and diabetes;Identify microbial elements of microbiota dysbiosis;Characterization of the human microbial metabolome in body fluids (plasma, serum, and urine);Identify potential biomarkers of microbiome role in CVD progression, acting negatively, or being beneficial mediators lagging disease progression;Correlate microbiome data with clinical, biochemical, and anthropometric data, including lifestyle assessment;Validate in animal models the outputs resulting from the microbiome studies with CVD cohorts;Develop novel microbiota-based therapeutic approaches such as dietary prebiotics and/or probiotics supplementation;Develop clinical trials based on diet supplementation to positively modulate microbiome potentiating its role in CVD outcomes.Highlight the importance of the microbiome in human health and disease by designing a curricula unit that can be attended by graduation and postgraduation students;Supervise postgraduation students;Lectures in Microbiome, including laboratory practicesScientific dissemination for the public, including basic and secondary schools, with particular emphasis on the microbiome’s role in human health and disease.The Investigator should have a strong background in microbiology, molecular biology, and omics data analysis, such as genome, transcriptome, and metabolome data. Once the majority of microbiota characterization is still very focused on bacterial populations, it would be preferential to recruit an Investigator with extensive experience in human opportunist fungal pathogens and their biology. The investigator should also have:Experience in research in cardiovascular pathophysiology;certification and be an experienced researcher in animal experimentation;Experience in molecular biology laboratory management;Pedagogical experience in microbiome and molecular biology;Experience in scientific dissemination activities;Experience in science management and technology transfer.