This webinar and coffee hour is part of the Microbes and Social Equity 2026 Speaker Series.
Searching for Missing Gut Microbes in the Amazon
What can Amazonian microbiomes teach us about the microbes we’ve lost?
Dr Allen-Vercoe will explore what happens when key members of the human gut microbiome are lost, and what we can learn from populations where this loss has not occurred. Drawing on research in remote and Indigenous communities in the Amazon, she will discuss how lifestyle, diet, and environment shape gut microbial diversity, and what these findings reveal about microbes that are rare or absent in industrialized populations.
Her talk will consider the implications of this “missing microbiome” for human health, as well as the scientific and ethical challenges of studying and potentially restoring microbial diversity. This work raises important questions about microbiome stewardship, global health, and how we define a healthy microbiome in a rapidly changing world.
After the talk, we continue the conversation with an informal social hour. Join us as we chat with the speaker, MSE members, and attendees about research, teaching, our pets, and more!
Programme (Timings are EST)
11:00 Welcome and introduction - Professor Sue Ishaq, Founder and Lead, MSE
11:05 Guest speaker - Dr Emma Allen-Vercoe PhD
11:45 Audience question and answer session
12:00 Informal coffee and chat
13:00 Close
