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© Jana Crobeck © Jana Crobeck

Symposium Microbiome:
From Benchtop to Bedside

27.10.26 - Wintercircus, Ghent

 

We are happy to invite you to the fifth edition of
the International Symposium "Microbiome: From Benchtop to Bedside",
taking place on 27 October 2026, in Ghent, Belgium.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee: Dr. Camille Allonsius, Prof. Dr. Thomas Demuyser, Dr. Ludovica Marinelli, Prof. Dr. Doris Vandeputte

© Jana Crobeck © Jana Crobeck

Program 

This year's theme reflects on five years of translating microbiome research into clinical reality, bridging scientific discovery with meaningful patient impact.

We are excited to present a diverse programme featuring leading academics and experts from across the field, who will share their latest insights, experiences and perspectives on translating microbiome research into clinical practice.

Join leading researchers, clinicians, microbiome enthusiasts and industry experts for a full day of cutting-edge talks and interdisciplinary exchange.

Full program

Call for Abstracts

Abstract submissions for oral or poster presentations open on XX September.
Share your research and contribute to the program!

Submit your abstract 

Registration 

Registration opens on XX September.

Register

 

© Jana Crobeck © Jana Crobeck

Practical 

  • Date: 27 October 2026, full day program with networking reception
  • Location: Wintercircus, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 11, 9000 Gent
  • Registration: Registration is possible via this link until the XXth of October
  • Registration fee (day program / day & evening program): 
    • Pre-doc: €75 / €120 incl. VAT
    • Post-doc, Academics, Hospital Staff:  €100 / €145 incl. VAT
    • Industry registration: €200 / €245 incl. VAT
  • Abstracts:
    • Submit your abstract until xx via this link
    • Review process: All submissions are carefully evaluated by our committee
    • Notification of acceptance: By xxx of October at the latest 
  • Accreditation: will be requested 

Our partners

Symposium's full program

Day Program

Time Program                                                                       
09:00-9:35 Registration and coffee
9:35-9:45 Opening
   
Session 1  Five years in: what actually changed? 
  Four fields that looked full of prmise when we started this symposium. 
Four people who can say where each of them actually stand today. 
9:45-10:10

Sarah Lebeer (Universiteit Antwerpen) on lactobacilli and the vaginal microbiome, and what citizen science
at scale did to our assumptions.
10:10-10:35 Lisa Derosa (Gustave Roussy) on the microbome and response to cancer immunotherapy.
10:35-11:00 Shari Mackens (UZ Brussel) on the microbiome in reproductive medicine.
11:00-11:25

Max Nieuwdorp (Amsterdam UMC) on faecal microbiota transplantation and metabolic disease,
a decade after the first trials.
11:25-11:55 Panel discussion
   
11:55-12:15 Best abstract award
12:15-13:45 Lunch, poster session and artistic content
   
Session 2 How do you know the signal is real? 
  Three people who work on the stretch between a result and a decision
13:45-14:10 Mette Hazenberg (Amsterdam UMC) on faecal microbiota transplantation in graft-versus-host diseas,
and what a phase 1 trial does and does not settle.
14:10-14:35 Crystel Hajjar (Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth) on short-chain fatty acids and the gut-immune
axis after stem cell transplatation, and on antibiotic exposure as the confounder that refuses to go away. 
14:35-15:00 Thies Gehrmann (Universiteit Antwerpen) on what happens when you stop picking one analysis and run every
defensible version of it instead. Most findings depend on choices that never make it into the methods section,
and this is a way to see which ones hold. 
15:00-15:25 Panel discussion
   
15:25-16:10 Coffee break and poster session
   
Session 3 Does it matter more at the start or at the end? 
  The microbiome at the two ends of a life, where the stakes are highest.
16:10-16:35 Debby Bogaert (University of Edinburgh) on the early-life respiratory microbiome: how the first
months set up the airway ecosystem, and why the same colonising bacteria lead to infection
in one infant and to nothing at all in another. 
16:35-17:00 Francesco Asnicar (University of Trento) on what large=scale metagenomics show about diet,
the gut microbome and metabolic health as people age, and how much of the translates into
anything an older adult should actually do differently. 
17:00-17:25 Third speaker to be announced.
17:25-18:00 Panel discussion
   
18:00-19:30 Network reception, poster session and registration of the evening guests 
 

Evening program (in Dutch)

Time Program                                                                                                                              
19:30 Inleidende voordracht
  Een actuele blik op het microbioom en de vertaalslag van onderzoek naar de klinische praktijk
20:00 Gesprekstafels tijdens walking dinner door Sir Catering
  In kleine groepen gaan we met onze experten dieper in op drie thema's:
  1. Het microbioom en gastro
  2. Het microbioom in de huisartsenpraktijk
  3. Het microbioom en de impact van voeding en levensstijl 
21:00 Panelgesprek tijdens het dessert
  Onze sprekers gaan met elkaar en met het publiek in gesprek over de inzichten van de avond. 
21:45 Netwerkdrink
23:00 Einde