Gut Microbiome

GutEnergy - Human gut microbiome-dependent energy extraction

"A calorie is not a calorie" is a statement often discussed in obesity management. We will seek to understand whether differences in gut microbiome composition affect energy extraction as reflected by the amount of energy being excreted into faeces. If so, this could over time translate into different physiological effects on the pathogenesis on human obesity. 

Collaborators include. 

• Michiel Kleerebezem, Wageningen University & Research

Funding

• Novo Nordisk Foundation

Period: 2024-2027

Contact

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager

YourGutBrain – Dairy for your gut and brain

The purpose of the YourGutBrain project is to investigate whether intake of fermented dairy and non-fermented dairy, respectively, affect weekly bowel movements and cognitive performance. This will be investigated through a dietary intervention study including healthy women with few bowel movements per week.

A wide range of measures related to the gut and the brain will be assessed upon consumption of fermented dairy and non-fermented dairy, respectively. Together, this will provide insights into whether dairy can affect bowel habits and cognition, as well as potential underlying mechanisms linking the gut and the brain.

Collaborators

• Associate Professor Anke Karabanov, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen
• Professor Hanne Christine Bertram, Department of Food Science, Aarhus University
• Professor Paul Cotter, APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Ireland.

Funding

• Arla Food for Health (AFH) and Danish Milk Levy Fund. AFH is a public-private research partnership between University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, Arla Foods Amba and Arla Foods Ingredients

Period: 2023 - 2027.

Contact

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager

Towards Personalized dietary Recommendations based on the Interaction between diet, Microbiome and Abiotic conditions in the gut

The project will generate more knowledge of the role the gut microbiota plays when people react differently to the same diet.

Focus areas

To investigate how the gut microbiota and environmental (abiotic) factors in the gut shape personal responses to food.

To investigate how and why digestion of food by the gut microbiota into small molecules (metabolites) varies from individual to individual.

About the project

You are what you eat, but why don’t we all react to foods in the same way?

Our guts contain a large community of microbes, and when we eat something and our microbes digest the food, they create products called microbial metabolites. These metabolites affect our immune system, our hormone balance, our health and possibly even our mood. When looking at dietary advice, there is no good ‘one-size fits-all’ solution.

In PRIMA, we want to explore the effect of diet from a different perspective, namely from your gut. We believe we can predict an individual’s response to a given diet based on fundamental factors such as pH and transit time in the gut, which govern the microbial responses. This way, we will develop better dietary advice tailored to a given person.

Involved in the project

Internal

Associate Professor Henrik Munch Roager

Professor Lars Ove Dragsted

External

Tine Rask Licht, DTU Fødevareinstituttet

Thue Schwartz, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR), University of Copenhagen

Jeroen Raes, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Abigail Johnson, BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota

Funded by

Novo Nordisk Fonden

Period: February 2020 – January 2026.

Contact

Mail: prima@nexs.ku.dk

Telephone: +45 2917 6795

NUTRIOME is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network of the Horizon Europe. The focus of NUTRIOME is to train 10 PhD students in data-driven precision nutrition. 

We will seek to understand personal responses to meals by integrating microbiome and metabolomics data with emphasis on gut microbial metabolites as predictors of metabolic responses to meals. 

Collaborators include. 

• Stine Ulven, University of Oslo
• Carsten Carlberg, Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn
• Susan Coort, Maastricht University
• Eran Elinav, Deutsches Krebsforschungs-zentrum
• Lydia Afman, Wageningen University and Research
• Karl-Heinz Herzig, University of Oulu
• Rikard Landberg, Chalmers University of Technology
• Lorraine Brennan, University College of Dublin

Funding

• Horizon Europe

Period: 2023-2027

Contact

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager

Diet-derived microbial metabolites to modulate gut motility in infants

The Sapere Aude project will generate new knowledge about how gut microbes via production of small molecules can impact gut motility in infants.

Infantile colic, functional constipation and diarrhoea are stressful conditions in early life associated with transient dysregulation of intestinal motility, which may depend on the interplay between nutrition and the gut microbiota.

Infantile colic, functional constipation and diarrhoea are stressful conditions in early life associated with transient dysregulation of intestinal motility, which may depend on the interplay between nutrition and the gut microbiota.

The purpose of the project is to conduct an infant cohort study following infants’ progression from milk to solid foods, concurrent with their progression in gut microbiota diversity, with the aim of identifying diet-dependent gut microbial metabolites, which affect intestinal motility. If successful, this knowledge may lay the foundation for innovative strategies to prevent and alleviate stomach ache in infants.

Involved in the project

Internal

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager

PhD Fellow Gladys Thingstrup Mathieu

External

Lindsay Hall, TU München

Catherine Stanton, APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork

Thue W. Schwartz, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR), University of Copenhagen

Funded by

Independent Research Fund Denmark – Sapere Aude: DFF Starting Grant.

Period:  1 June 2021 - 31 May 2025.

Contact

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager

The project will investigate bifidobacteria's ability to fortify the gut barrier function via production of small molecules in early life

The purpose of the project is to investigate whether and how bifidobacteria produce a specific group of molecules in the infant gut and the molecules' potential to affect gut barrier function in early life. This knowledge may pave the way for novel strategies to strengthen gut function in early life. 

Collaborators

• Martin F. Laursen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Mikiyasu Sakanaka, Kyoto University, Japan
• Mindy Engevik, Medical University of South Carolina, USA

Funding

• The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation

Period: 2023-2024

Contact

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager

The project will investigate gut microbial production, host-microbial metabolism, and function of aromatic lactic acids during infancy. 

We have previously shown that breastmilk-promoted Bifidobacterium species produce aromatic lactic acids in the infant gut, which may affect immune function (Laursen et al. 2021; Nature Microbiology). This project builds on these results and seeks to further decipher the absorption, metabolism, excretion and immune function of these molecules in infants. 

Collaborators

• Martin F. Laursen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Susanne Brix, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Daniel Globisch, Uppsala University, Sweden

Funding

• Independent Research Fund Denmark

Period: 2023-2027

Contact

Associate professor Henrik Munch Roager