The Good Sh*t: turning microbiome science into therapy

What if anxiety could be treated through the gut? What if a designer super probiotic could deliver lasting weight loss and better metabolic health, and be sold at your local Ph*rm*cy? What if we could protect a child’s microbiome during a course of antibiotics, rather than just hope for the best?

At this Liggins Institute public lecture, researchers will take you inside the gut microbiome trials already underway, and the next wave of studies aiming to tackle some of today’s toughest health challenges. From new insights into the gut–brain axis and mental health, to obesity and the long-sought “silver bullet” of sustainable weight loss, this is microbiome science moving rapidly toward real-world therapies.

Speakers include Liggins Institute Director Professor Justin O’Sullivan, Professor Wayne Cutfield, and Research Fellows Dr Amila Nawarathna and Dr Theo Portlock.

Join us at 6pm on Thursday, 19 March for a provocative and insight-packed evening. You and your microbiome are welcome to stay for drinks and nibbles afterwards.

About the speakers

Professor Justin O’Sullivan (above left) is a molecular microbiologist/computational biologist and Director of the Liggins Institute. Justin has honorary appointments at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the University of Southampton. Justin leads research that focuses on how our microbiomes, environments and genetics interact. He also runs an acute care genome sequencing programme for critically ill children.

Professor Wayne Cutfield (centre left) is Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at the Liggins Institute. He is an honorary professor at Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China. He and Justin lead the Gut Bugs research programme. Wayne leads research examining the role of human milk oligosaccharides (found in breast milk) in preventing obesity, promoting healthy brain development and also protecting the gut microbiome in young children through the NiPPeR and OAK studies. He also leads the NiPPeR NZ longitunidal study and undertakes clinical research that examines how environmental influences early in life can affect childhood growth and development in ways that could lead to chronic conditions in adult life.

Research Fellow Dr Amila Nawarathna (centre right) is a microbiologist who studies the human gut microbiome using hands-on laboratory approaches. His research focuses on studying rare gut bacteria that are difficult to grow, helping better understand what these microbes do in the body. He characterises these bacteria and understands how they interact with one another to influence human disease. Amila joined the Gut Bugs research team in 2024.

Research Fellow Dr Theo Portlock (above right) is a systems biologist with a specialisation in AI and metagenomics. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental molecular mechanisms that underpin human health and disease. He specialises in understanding how relationships between the gut microbiome, blood metabolites, and brain function influence our day to day lives using interpreted machine learning methodologies. Theo joined the Gut Bugs research team in 2023.

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