Global Probiotics Council Announces Grants

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Global Probiotics Council (GPC), a committee established in 2004 by Groupe DANONE and Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd., announced the two awardees who are receiving the inaugural Young Investigator Grants for Probiotics Research (YIGPRO), which will provide $50,000 over the course of one year to two researchers and their respective institutions. The program was created to identify young researchers who are expected to continue to contribute to the advancement of probiotics and gut microbiota research in the United States.

Ajay S. Gulati, M.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics in the department of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was selected for his research proposal, “Antimicrobial Peptide Mediated Alterations of the Gut Microbiome in Nod 2/IL-10 Deficient Mice.” This research will focus on a very important mechanistic process that could help researchers understand how host immune responses control the bacterial population that lives in the gut.

The other grant will be awarded to Matthew A. Ciorba, M.D., an instructor in medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at Washington University in Saint Louis. His proposal, “Probiotic Bacteria Protect from Radiation Induced Intestinal Injury: Mechanisms of Action,” could make an important contribution in understanding the mechanisms by which a probiotic may protect the intestine from cell destruction caused by radiation.

A rigorous review and evaluation of all the applications was provided by the U.S. Probiotics Scientific Board Selection Committee, which is composed of W. Allan Walker, M.D., Conrad Taff Professor of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School; Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D., executive director, International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP); and Balfour Sartor, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The objectives of the grant program are to stimulate innovative research relevant to the field of gut microbiota, to support young investigators, and to attract new researchers into this field. “We received many excellent applications for the first year of this grant,” said Sven Thormahlen, executive vice president R&D, Danone Research. “We hope the two young investigators will advance our knowledge in the growing field of probiotics and provide insight into the mechanistic processes which promote human health.”

Ryuji Chino, senior managing director, Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd., added, “We have a long history working with probiotics in Japan. We hope this new program will spark interest and excitement in the global field of probiotics.”