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Fermented Foods and Health — Does Today’s Science Support Yesterday’s Tradition?
ISAPP and Today’s Dietitian collaborated on a free webinar in which Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD, and Jennifer Burton, MS, RD, LDN discussed the foundational elements of fermented foods, the role of microbes in fermentation, and more. -
Probiotics: NIH Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
This fact sheet from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) features an overview of probiotics, with scientifically supported health indications as well as safety considerations. -
Highlighted Talks from the 2025 ISAPP Annual Meeting
In this special episode, ISAPP’s Executive Director Marla Cunningham highlights ISAPP’s annual meeting, held in Banff, Canada in July 2025. Four speakers join the podcast to describe their talks from the meeting: Episode abbreviations and links: About our speakers: Carolina Tropini, University of British Columbia, Canada Dr. Carolina Tropini is an Assistant Professor at the… -
ISAPP welcomes two new scientists to its board of directors
The ISAPP board of directors is pleased to welcome two prominent scientists and frequent ISAPP collaborators to its ranks: Prof…. -
Unraveling the functions of GLP-1 in the gut, with Dr. Thomas Greiner PhD
This episode features Dr. Thomas Greiner PhD from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), speaking about the various functions of GLP-1 in the gut, and the role of gut microbes in GLP-1 production, with ultimate effects on host health. He noted that GLP-1 is produced by enteroendocrine cells called L-cells, both in the small intestine and… -
Archive Highlight: Microbes that break down mucus and milk to benefit the host, with Dr. Clara Belzer PhD
We discuss microbes, mucus, and milk with Dr. Clara Belzer PhD from Wageningen University in the Netherlands in this episode. Dr. Belzer, a molecular geneticist, specializes in studying the microorganisms that are equipped to break down the glycans in mucus and human milk within the host environment. Key topics from this episode: Episode abbreviations and links: About… -
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Investigating the microbial mechanisms contributing to host metabolism, with Dr. Amir Zarrinpar, MD PhD
This episode features Dr. Amir Zarrinpar, MD PhD, from UC San Diego (USA) speaking about his work on circadian biology and host metabolism, and what’s currently known about microbial mechanisms. Dr. Zarrinpar explains that in mouse models, restricting feeding to the nocturnal (awake) period is important for their metabolic and overall health. When mice eat… -
Interactions between immunity, gut microbiota, and metabolism, with Prof. Dirk Haller PhD
This episode features Prof. Dirk Haller from Technical University of Munich (Germany) speaking about his work in the field of nutritional immunology, trying to unravel how immunity and gut microbiota interact with metabolism, ultimately impacting the emergence of chronic diseases. He focuses on how microbe-host interactions in the gut impact inflammatory or tumorigenic responses –… -
Examining fermented foods for potential cardiometabolic health benefits, with Prof. Ben Willing PhD
This episode features Prof. Ben Willing PhD from the University of Alberta, Canada, speaking about his work investigating fermented foods such as kefir for potential cardiometabolic health benefits. The microorganisms associated with fermented foods are not standardized – for example, traditional kefirs have some microorganisms in common, but other microorganisms that are present sporadically. Moreover, kefir… -
Diet and gut microbiome contributions to host energy balance, with Dr. Karen Corbin PhD RD
This episode features Dr. Karen Corbin PhD RD from AdventHealth Translational Research Institute (USA), speaking about how the triad of diet, gut microbiome, and host characteristics contribute to energy balance as well as metabolic diseases. From the perspective of host physiology, she explores how to use diet to remodel the gut microbiome to impact energy… -
Progress in understanding the gut microbiome’s role in health and disease states, with Prof. Emad El-Omar MD FRCP
This episode features Prof. Emad El-Omar MD FRCP from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, speaking about a recent paper exploring the healthy microbiome concept, as well as the latest research on how the gut microbiome contributes to the pathophysiology of several diseases. Prof. El-Omar talked about research on H. pylori-induced disease in… -
The HACK index for measuring a health-associated gut microbiome, with Dr. Tarini Ghosh PhD
This episode features computational microbiologist Dr. Tarini Ghosh PhD from Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (Delhi, India) speaking about his recently published paper that proposes a novel Health-Associated Core Keystone (HACK) index for measuring a healthy microbiome. To create the index, the group used a huge volume of sequence data – over 201 terabytes –… -
Regulatory science and the development of microbiome biomarkers, with Dr. Céline Druart PhD
This episode features Dr. Céline Druart PhD of Pharmabiotic Research Institute (PRI) speaking about the role of regulatory science in the development of microbiome biomarkers. First, PRI’s Communication and Membership Manager Camille Bello briefly describes the work of the PRI in supporting the development of therapeutic and diagnostic products derived from microbiome science. Regulation is… -
Identifying features of a healthy microbiome, with Raphaela Joos
This episode features Raphaela Joos from University College Cork in Ireland, speaking about efforts by the Human Microbiome Action Consortium to create an expert-led consensus around the concept of a healthy human microbiome. Ms. Joos, a PhD student who was first author of the resulting paper, notes that a healthy human microbiome can be defined… -
Advancing gut microbiome testing for use in clinical practice, with Dr. Gianluca Ianiro MD PhD
In this episode, Dr. Gianluca Ianiro MD PhD speaks about how to advance gut microbiome testing for use in medicine. -
Exploring resources to inform probiotic recommendations: New UK Probiotic Guide Released
Well-informed healthcare professionals know the importance of recommending evidence-based probiotic products to their patients to achieve specific health benefits. But… -
How a non-industrialized diet affects gut microbes and health, with Dr. Anissa Armet PhD RD
This episode features Dr. Anissa Armet PhD RD from the University of Alberta in Canada, speaking about the impact of diet on both the gut microbiota and overall health. Dr. Armet, a registered dietitian and researcher, says the Western diet along with the associated gut microbiome changes have played a role (amongst other things) in… -
Use of biotics in animals: impact on nutrition, health, and food production
In this review, a group of animal health experts, comprising academic and industry scientists, surveyed the evidence on biotics for both agricultural and companion animals, outlining what’s known to date and the promising directions in this scientific field. Biotics are shown to be useful for helping maintain the health and wellness of various animal species…. -
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How to respond to the question “Should I take a probiotic?”
With contributions from Prof. Daniel Merenstein MD A Washington Post article published March 11, 2025 by a gastroenterologist addressed a… -
The Promise of Personalized Medicine
While the existence of responders and non-responders are evident in any clinical trial, today’s forward thinkers envision the next logical… -
Antibiotic-perturbed microbiota and the role of probiotics
In 2023, ISAPP convened an expert panel comprising academic experts in probiotics, clinical trials, microbiome science, microbiology and statistical methods to discuss what we know about the ability of probiotics to restore an antibiotic-perturbed microbiota. The topic was suggested by a member of the Industry Advisory Committee to clarify the state of research and highlight… -
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Developing probiotics for neurodegenerative disease, with Dr. Alex Parker PhD
This episode features Dr. Alex Parker PhD from Université de Montréal talking about models for studying neurodegenerative diseases. His lab makes use of the worm C. elegans, a common model organism for studying disease and aging as it has many genes in common with humans. Focusing on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Dr. Parker makes models… -
ISAPP Board Member Prof. Dan Merenstein MD Elected to National Academy of Medicine
A longtime ISAPP board member, Prof. Dan Merenstein MD of Georgetown University School of Medicine, has received a prestigious honor:… -
How the maternal microbiome influences offspring neurodevelopment, with Dr. Eldin Jašarević PhD
This episode features Dr. Eldin Jašarević PhD from University of Pittsburgh discussing research that investigates how maternal signals influence the general development and neurodevelopment of the offspring. Dr. Jašarević’s particular interest in this field stems from his family’s journey as refugees from Bosnia who found their way to the US. His lab studies how maternal… -
Probiotics for preterms: sharing complex decision-making
This Clinical Outlook was published by 2 panelists from a session held at the ISAPP 2024 annual meeting, discussing the topic of probiotic use in preterm infants. The authors note that clinical practice varies widely, with family perspectives often overlooked in decisions about whether to use probiotics in preterm infants. The authors discuss the current… -
Fiber and short-chain fatty acids for cognitive health, with Dr. Boushra Dalile PhD
This episode features Dr. Boushra Dalile PhD from KU Leuven in Belgium – ISAPP’s 2024 Glenn Gibson Early Career Researcher Award winner – discussing the protective role of fiber and prebiotics on cognitive health. Dr. Dalile is trained in psychology, and in her current work she undertakes human intervention studies to examine the effects of… -
Design and reporting of prebiotic and probiotic clinical trials in the context of diet and the gut microbiome
Diet is frequently overlooked as a factor in probiotic and prebiotic studies, despite playing a key role in shaping both host gastrointestinal function and microbiota features known to have a significant influence on prebiotic and probiotic efficacy. A group of 8 international experts, led by Prof Maria Marco PhD and Prof Kevin Whelan PhD, explored… -
Can Probiotics Prevent Respiratory Tract Infections in Infants and Children?
Imagine you are a primary care pediatrician practicing in an area where respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are particularly common during… -
Prebiotics: Does Delivery Format Matter?
By Kelly S. Swanson, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA Prebiotics (1) have long been appreciated for their benefits to…