Dining out with friends: the intestinal microbiome | Professor Fiona Powrie FRS FMedSci

In this lecture, Professor Fiona Powrie reviews key adaptations that allow the intestine to remain stable alongside its bacterial 'friends', and discusses how understanding these relationships may provide new treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is home to trillions of bacteria that help with nutrition, immune system development and defending the body. In a health body, the host body and the bacteria live alongside each other in a carefully maintained state of symbiotic homeostasis. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), however, there is a breakdown in the healthy dialogue between our body and our microbial residents resulting in chronic immune attack in the bowel. Professor Fiona Powrie FRS FMedSci is head of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford. The 2014 Jean Shanks Lecture was delivered at the Academy of Medical Sciences AGM. Watch more Jean Shanks lectures here:    • Playlist   We are the independent body in the UK representing the diversity of medical science. Our mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. Find the Academy of Medical Sciences online: Website: http://acmedsci.ac.uk/ Twitter:   / acmedsci   Facebook:   / acmedsci   Instagram:   / acmedsci