Program

2021 Gut Health Symposium Final Program

Invited Speakers

Speaker: Mick Bailey

Title: Intestinal microbiomes as complex ecosystems: Implications for intervention strategies

Speaker Biography:
Mick Bailey graduated from Bristol Veterinary School in 1979 and went on to earn a PhD in parasite immunology at Cambridge before undertaking a year in veterinary practice. He returned to research in 1985, to a succession of postdoctoral positions in mucosal immunology, followed by a Wellcome Trust fellowship in 1995. He was appointed to a lectureship in mucosal immunology at Bristol in 2000 and to a chair in comparative immunology in 2005. His research has focused on the way mucosal surfaces respond to novel antigens associated with pathogens and with harmless environmental materials such as food, and how the mucosal immune system makes appropriate responses to each. He has been involved in several studies primarily using pigs as surgical and immunological models for humans, notably around corneal and laryngeal transplants. His current research includes the role of microbiomes in determining the function of the mucosal immune system, and immune responses to respiratory viruses including influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Speaker: Melha Mellata

Title: Prophylactic targeting gut neuroimmunological axis to increase resistance to bacteria in layers

Speaker Biography:
Dr. Melha Mellata is an associate professor of microbiology in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University. Her research interests lie in the areas of pathogenesis of bacterial diseases and vaccine development. The long-term goal of the research program is to develop effective intervention strategies against bacterial infections and their antibiotic resistance. Her research will benefit both human health and agricultural animal production and will enhance food safety by reducing the transmission of bacteria through the animal-food production pipeline.

Speaker: Phillip Myer

Title: Role of the digestive tract microbiome on beef cattle performance

Speaker Biography:
Phillip Myer is an associate professor and rumen microbiologist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his BS in biology from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and completed his PhD in microbiology at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He then joined the USDA US Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, as a postdoctoral research associate, focusing on improving feed efficiency in finishing beef cattle. At the University of Tennessee, Myer's laboratory uses cutting-edge microbial technologies combined with microbial ecology, bioinformatics, and statistical approaches to continue this research, examining and optimizing the nutritional status of beef cattle. The work in his group aims to better define the complex interactions among the gut microbiome, host genetics, diet, environment, and management, with the goal of better explaining variation in feed efficiency and establishing the rumen microbiome and its effects on growing beef cattle.