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We all know that what we eat can have an impact on our bodies. But did you know it can affect you on a microbiological, and even cellular level? Join our trio of intrepid researchers as they take you on an exploration of how what we eat affects our gut ecosystem, our cells and our metabolism, and how this can all contribute to our health.
Western diet: our brain may like it, but our gut doesn’t
Dr Alessandra Frau
(Research Associate (PostDoc))
Our body is an ecosystem where many microorganisms live and thrive. Bugs residing in the gut make a diverse and rich community that helps us in many ways, such as digesting fibres and metabolising some vitamins. Alessandra studies how the microbial community changes with gut diseases. The western lifestyle is a main cause of some intestinal diseases, and the western diet has a negative effect on our gut microbes. Changes are required, our health is at stake, what are we willing to do about it? Alessandra will give you some fun facts about poo, but be ready to answer to some questions too...!
Eat Healthy, Drink Less: A request from the powerhouse of the cell
Dr Muhammad Awais
(Senior Postdoctoral Researcher)
Mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, provide energy to all the organs in our body. Mitochondrial dysfunction triggers the development of a range of diseases occurring in the heart, brain, muscles and pancreas. Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disorder of the pancreas and is predominantly caused by gallstones or excessive alcohol intake. This in turn leads to mitochondrial dysfunction followed by uncontrolled damage to pancreas cells. In his talk, Muhammad will explain how acute pancreatitis develops, and how it could be avoided with healthy eating and less drinking...
Metabolism – Small things sometimes mean a whole lot!
Professor Warwick (Rick) Dunn
(Professor of Analytical and Clinical Metabolomics)
Metabolism is the chemical way we as humans use what we eat and breathe. Metabolism is often viewed negatively and is associated with obesity, diabetes and heart disease. However, it is an essential and beneficial process throughout our lives and controls how we think, how far we can run and when we want to sleep. In this talk Rick will show how we study metabolism today, how metabolism is applied to understand and diagnose diseases and how metabolism can be used to understand how each of us independently reacts differently to food, exercise and most importantly a disease.
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