Panagiotou's lab

Sascha Schäuble concentrates on his work at his standing desk in the office. In the accompanying quote, he explains his work at the Leibniz-HKI: “As Head of Integrative Data Analysis, I am a bioinformatic hub at the Leibniz-HKI and open for collaboration with all groups on data (pre-)processing, analysis and integration.”

Tongta Sae-Ong is sitting in a dress on a chair similar to a bar stool with a “Peanuts” coffee cup in her hand, the arm with the cup is leaning on a high table in front of her. There is a large window in the background. She is in conversation with her colleague Sascha Schäuble, of whom only his knees and one hand are visible. In the accompanying quote, she explains her work at the Leibniz-HKI: “As a bioinformatician my projects focus on metagenomics. After studying fungal genomes, I now work on the plant microbiome.”

Graphic with color gradient in yellow-pink. In large colorful letters it says: “JULY – Sascha Schäuble & Tongta Sae-Ong”. Below that: “Leibniz-HKI Calendar 2025”. At the bottom is a lilac arrow with the word “SWIPE”, inviting you to turn the page. At the bottom left is the Leibniz-HKI logo.

Tongta Sae-Ong and Sascha Schäuble play a game of ping-pong across a large wooden table and benches on a green lawn. Lush green deciduous trees can be seen in the background, obscuring part of a modern Leibniz-HKI building behind them. The accompanying quote from Sascha reads: “You’re only limited by your imagination.”

Sporty 🏸, curious, and far from cliché: In our #July feature of our #calendar, colleagues Tongta Sae-Ong & Sascha Schäuble share their paths in bioinformatics, love for sports, and why science is as much about people as it is about data: lmy.de/fTKMI
#FacesOfScience #LeibnizHKI @mbdlab.bsky.social

A student tries out VR glasses at the Chair for Research on Teaching and Learning of the University of Jena.

In a new @naturemedicine.bsky.social study, 8 weeks of VR training with REVERIE improved working memory, olfaction & altered the gut microbiome in teens with #overweight – without physical exercise. P.S.: We still like exercise though! 🤫

➡️ Paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

@mbdlab.bsky.social

World Microbiome Day is coming up! Please check our European Initiative MiccrobioTAckle!

Our European doctoral Network funded by @horizoneu.bsky.social MiCCrobioTAckle is now on Bluesky!
Follow the account to learn about our progress on the gut microbiome and cancer cachexia!

Group picture of the young international participants of the first MiCCrobioTAckle project training event on the grounds of the Leibniz-HKI in Jena. In the background are green trees and modern buildings, the sky is bright and blue with some big white clouds.

The #MiCCrobioTAckle network held its first on-site training in Jena! 12 PhD researchers learned R basics for #microbiome data at #LeibnizHKI. The EU project explores the gut microbiome’s role in cancer cachexia. 👉 lmy.de/QLhdA

👥 @mbdlab.bsky.social
🌐 www.miccrobiotackle.eu

Gianni Panagiotou, Professor of Microbiome Dynamics, standing next to a whiteboard.

Gianni Panagiotou and his team @mbdlab.bsky.social in the Cluster of Excellence @microverse.bsky.social examine how the gut #microbiome impacts the development & progression of diseases. Read more in the latest issue of the #UniJena research magazine.

➡️ www.lichtgedanken.uni-jena.de/en/3146/how-...

Our lecture series #MiCoCo is back! On 2 April, Prof. Panagiotou @mbdlab.bsky.social will give a talk on "Colorectal Cancer Through the Lens of Gut Microbial Metabolism".
📍 Lecture Hall Erbertstraße 1
Everyone is welcome!

PhD position available in the Netherlands As part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) MiCCrobioTackle (miccrobiotackle.eu), our …

Spread the word. 1 open position at our MSCA-DN MiCCrobioTAckle (miccrobiotackle.eu).

There is 1 position at our partner's location at AUMC to work on an in-silico approach to FMT design.

Project info & application here:
www.leibniz-hki.de/en/mbd-newsd...

Application deadline 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟯𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱.

PhD position available in the Netherlands As part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) MiCCrobioTackle (miccrobiotackle.eu), our …

Spread the word. 1 open position at our MSCA-DN MiCCrobioTAckle (miccrobiotackle.eu).

There is 1 position at our partner's location at AUMC to work on an in-silico approach to FMT design.

Project info & application here:
www.leibniz-hki.de/en/mbd-newsd...

Application deadline 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟯𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱.

What microbes tell us about Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Using medical data from more than 1,200 people, specific microbiome signatures have been identified that allow pre…

Check also the press-release: www.leibniz-hki.de/en/press-rel...
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We are incredibly grateful to the DFG (funds via @microverse.bsky.social ) and Horizon Europe (BestTreat) for supporting our project.
12/n

Congratulations to all authors, including our collaborators Weiping Jia, Aimin Xu, Bjorn Nielsen, Max Nieuwdorp, and Rohit Loomba for their great work.
11/n

Our study reveals robust and highly specific NAFLD signatures and offers a more realistic microbiome-therapeutics approach over individual species for this complex disease.
10/n

Finally, using these signatures coupled with further mediation analysis and metabolic dependency modeling, we propose synergistic defined microbial consortia associated with NAFLD phenotype in overweight and lean individuals, respectively.
9/n

We then created ML models (RF) using bacterial species and predicted metabolites to classify NAFLD-obese and controls. These models are highly accurate and specific to NAFLD compared to other metabolic diseases.
8/n

We found that NAFLD-obese and NAFLD-lean individuals have different microbiome taxonic profiles than other co-ocurring metabolic diseases. Predicted metabolites (GSMM) profiles were a priori not different between groups.
7/n

In this study, we mined public data and analyze shotgun metagenomics of 1206 patients with clear information on NAFLD status and other metabolic diseases and well-characterized clinical profiles.
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Another challenge is that studies have not considered differences between obese and lean patients (around 20% of those suffering NAFLD). Could the microbiome-signatures differ between these 2 groups?
5/n

Us and others have shown that the gut microbiome could be a powerful diagnostic tool for NAFLD. But, NAFLD can co-occur with other metabolic diseases like T2D, obesity, etc. How specific are the microbiome-signatures found in NAFLD patients?
4/n

NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver) has become a global epidemic, affecting around 40% of the Western world and in many cases undiagnosed until reaching severe stages
3/n

In a nutshell: In a large-scale study mining public data, we identified microbiome-signatures that can differenriate between NAFLD and other commonly co-ocurring metabolic diseases. This could help in the more precise use of microbiome-based therapies for NAFLD.
2/n

Happy to share our new paper “Discovery of robust and highly specific microbiome signatures of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease”, published in @microbiomej.bsky.social
rdcu.be/d6Z2j

More information below
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Beneficial microbiome and diet interplay in early-onset colorectal cancer | EMBO Molecular Medicine EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.

We are happy to share our review on the beneficial role of the gut microbiome and diet in colorectal cancer, particularly for an early onset of the disease.
This is a joint effort with partners in our BMBF-funded consortium PerMiCCion (permiccion.de)

Happy reading!
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Beneficial microbiome and diet interplay in early-onset colorectal cancer | EMBO Molecular Medicine EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.

We are happy to share our review on the beneficial role of the gut microbiome and diet in colorectal cancer, particularly for an early onset of the disease.
This is a joint effort with partners in our BMBF-funded consortium PerMiCCion (permiccion.de)

Happy reading!
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

We are hiring! Several positions are available at our group at LeibnizHKI:

- PhD in Microbiome Systems Biology
- PhD in Metagenomics
- Postdoc in Microbiome research
- Team assistant

Applications here: lnkd.in/gHnx5_dc

If you know anyone interested, please RT!

Decoding Early Life Microbiota and Host Interactions at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Decoding Early Life Microbiota and Host Interactions at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com

🚨 PhD Opportunity @halllab.bsky.social!
🔬 Decoding Early Life Microbiota & Host Interactions
🧬 Ideal for those with bioinformatics/microbiome experience
🌍 Open to international candidates (MSCA mobility rules apply).
📅 Deadline: 18th Dec
🌐 Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Excited to share “Bin Chicken”, substantially improving genome recovery through rational metagenomic assembly. Applied to public 🌍 metagenomes, it recovered 24,000 novel species 🦠, including 6 novel phyla.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
@wwood @rhysnewell @CMR_QUT
🧵1/6

We are hiring! Several positions are available at our group at LeibnizHKI:

- PhD in Microbiome Systems Biology
- PhD in Metagenomics
- Postdoc in Microbiome research
- Team assistant

Applications here: lnkd.in/gHnx5_dc

If you know anyone interested, please RT!

The microbiome in cancer The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in cancer development and progression, by influencing the host immune system and metabolism.

More #NatureReviewsCancer updates 🚨

We recently launched a collection on the #microbiome in cancer. While its role is still debated, the collection presents a selection of articles from #SpringerNature journals to highlight our current understandings.🧫🦠

😀👉 bit.ly/48u8WFH

Spatially restricted immune and microbiota-driven adaptation of the gut - Nature Intestinal regionalization is characterized by robust and resilient structural cell states and the intestine can adapt to environmental stress in a spatially controlled manner through crosstalk betwee...

#WeekendRead! #LocationLocationLocation! Amazing @Nature by @touficmayassi.bsky.social, Xavier &co showing regional specialization of the gut at the spatial (single cell) level! Strong resilience after inflammation & ILC2 are key in middle colon adaption to microbiota! www.nature.com/articles/s41...