Targeting the gastrointestinal mucosa associated microbiome to improve clinical outcomes

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), defined as alterations in the composition, density and function of microbes colonising the small intestine, plays an important role in the pathophysiology of highly prevalent disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI), such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD).

Effective treatments of SIBO require validated and reliable diagnostic tests that are readily available in the routine clinical setting. However, the commonly used breath tests are unreliable and lack diagnostic accuracy. The gold standard for diagnosing SIBO through aspiration and culture of small intestinal content is limited to specialised centres. As a result, antibiotics for treating SIBO are often prescribed empirically, leading to a trial-and-error approach. This method is suboptimal and results in a high rate of treatment failures and unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.

This project seeks to address the urgent needs expressed by patients and clinicians for enhanced care throughout the diagnostic and treatment journey. By developing and validating sensitive and specific novel clinical tests, we aim to make the diagnostic process clearer, more precise and less expensive. By developing personalised treatments using innovative antimicrobial therapies guided by clinical biomarkers, we aim to ease patients' suffering and provide more strategies to personalise treatment for clinicians, eliminating ineffective trial-and-error “one-size-fits-all” approaches.

The research would be conducted at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH). All the wet lab work will be conducted at the well-equipped Lab at the Translational Research Institute adjacent to the PAH. Participant recruitment will be supported by the dedicated, well-established clinical research infrastructure embedded within the department of Gastroenterology at the PAH. The research is supported by a consumer advisory group, a data manager, clinical research nurses, a research and innovation manager and several senior researchers who will be part of the advisory group with experience in mentoring HRD students.