The intestinal microbiota in the first 100 days of life

The description of the gut microbiota may be the biggest recent breakthrough in medicine. In the early stages of life, especially in prematurely born children, dysbiosis of the microbiota is thought to play a role in the well-known health problems related to the development of a healthy immune response against gut bacteria in preterm infants. This can lead to allergies and the development of chronic inflammatory diseases later in life. The consortium has established a strong position in this field by conducting innovative and translational research on the role of gut bacteria in human diseases. Expertise in complex biostatistics is present. In addition, the consortium has a leading position in the analysis of fecal mycobiota (fungi) which are increasingly being associated with human disease and which have been scarcely studied so far due to technical challenges. Finally, in this consortium, we will analyze metabolites found in the gut of preterm infants. These analyses may lead to a better understanding of the development of the neonatal gut and the prevention of inflammatory diseases and allergies later in life.