New endowed lectureship explores the role of the gut microbiome in obesity and diabetes

Read the original media release here (in German).

Over the past decades, metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes have become one of the greatest global medical and social challenges. Almost half a billion people worldwide are now living with diabetes – around a third of them are over 65, but children and adolescents are increasingly affected too. By 2045, this number is expected to rise further, to well over 600 million. The gut microbiota – the totality of microorganisms in the gut – influences metabolism and the immune system in many ways. In humans, disturbances in this delicate balance are considered a key factor in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic diseases.

A newly created endowed lectureship will investigate what these interactions between metabolism and the immune system look like in detail and which mechanisms could be used to develop new microbiome-based strategies for the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. “The new endowed lectureship strengthens a key field for the future of medicine and anchors it at our university in the long term,” says Virginia Richter, Rector of the University of Bern. Stephen Leib, Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Director of the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) of the University of Bern, where the endowed lectureship will be based, adds: “By pooling knowledge from basic research and clinical practice, new approaches to combating obesity and diabetes can be developed. This makes it possible to contribute concretely to tackling one of the most pressing health challenges of our time.”

Research at the interface of microbiota, immunology and metabolism

The endowed lectureship, which is set up for twelve years and funded with around CHF 5 million, focuses on research into immunometabolism – a still young field of research that investigates the interactions between metabolic processes and the immune system. A central working hypothesis is that, in obesity and diabetes, certain metabolic products of the gut microbiome trigger or intensify persistent, low-grade inflammatory processes in the body that are involved in regulating body weight. Other metabolic products of the gut microbiome, by contrast, appear to protect against such inflammatory processes.

The new endowed lectureship will be held by Prof. Dr Maria Luisa Balmer. Balmer is an SNSF Eccellenza Assistant Professor and head of the Translational Immunometabolism Lab at the Institute for Infectious Diseases of the University of Bern. Her research will investigate which microorganisms have a protective function against such inflammatory reactions and could be used as the body’s own means of regulating weight, so to speak. The aim is to lay the scientific foundations for innovative strategies for the prevention and treatment of these important diseases.

For her research, Balmer combines innovative experimental models – such as germ-free mouse models, i.e. mice that grow up completely without microorganisms, including gut bacteria – with state-of-the-art multi‑omics approaches and clinical studies with patients with obesity and diabetes. The multi-omics approaches integrate data at the level of genes, proteins and metabolic products in order to obtain as complete a picture of the biological processes as possible. In this way, mechanisms of interaction between the gut microbiome and the host as well as potentially beneficial metabolic products can first be identified in the mouse model, and their relevance can then be tested directly in patients.

“The endowed lectureship makes it possible to systematically decipher the functional role of individual microorganisms and their metabolic products and to translate them more quickly into clinical application,” says Leib. Balmer adds: “I am delighted that the new endowed lectureship allows us to complement the IFIK’s existing strong profile in infection research in a targeted way, by now systematically investigating how beneficial gut bacteria and their metabolic products could protect against obesity and diabetes.”

A contribution to prevention, therapy and personalised medicine
The endowed lectureship is made possible by the financial support of the Diabetes Center Berne (DCB) – a private, independent Swiss foundation established in 2017 by entrepreneur Willy Michel with the aim of making life with diabetes easier. Derek Brandt, CEO of the Diabetes Center Berne, emphasises:  “Metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes are among the most common and cost-intensive conditions of our time. For us, it is crucial that new scientific findings are translated as quickly as possible into concrete approaches for prevention and treatment. A better understanding of the gut microbiome opens up promising new possibilities here.”

The endowed lectureship is thus intended to help close an existing gap between classical infection research and metabolic medicine and to foster new interdisciplinary collaborations within the Faculty of Medicine. “This field of research is already firmly established at the University of Bern. With the endowed lectureship, we want to make a targeted contribution to developing promising approaches towards application more quickly – especially where new findings can concretely improve diabetes management,” says Brandt. In particular, the lectureship is expected to deliver new microbiota-based prevention and treatment approaches against obesity and its secondary diseases, deeper interdisciplinary collaboration within the university and with external partners, and fresh impetus for personalised medicine, for example through the use of microbial biomarkers for individual risk assessment.