Why Gut Microbes Matter

Harry Flint obtained his BSc and PhD in Genetics from the University of Edinburgh and subsequently held lectureships at the Universities of Nottingham and the West Indies. Following a fellowship in molecular biology at Edinburgh, Harry joined the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen in 1985 with the goal of applying these approaches to the microbiology of the ruminant gut. More recently, his research has focused increasingly on the human intestinal microbiota and their role in health and disease, in particular the impact of dietary fibres on our gut microbial community and its metabolic products. Harry is now an Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen and is the author of more than 250 scientific papers, reviews and book chapters. He is happily married and has three grown-up children.

Microorganisms and the Microbiome.- The Gut Microbiome: Essential Symbionts or Unwelcome Guests?.- How to Analyse Microbial Communities?.- How Microbes Gain Energy with and Without Oxygen.- Who Inhabits Our Gut? Introducing the Human Gut Microbiota.- Variability and Stability of the Human Gut Microbiome.- How Gut Microorganisms Make Use of Available Carbohydrates.- Do My Microbes Make Me Fat? Potential for the Gut Microbiota to Influence Energy Balance, Obesity and Metabolic Health in Humans.- Gut Microbiota and Metabolites.- Host Responses to Gut Microbes.- Treating the Gut Microbiome as a System.- Perspectives and Prospects.