As a postdoctoral researcher deciphering host-microbe interactions in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), I focus on developing precision diagnostic tools by integrating machine learning with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to identify and detect microbial biomarkers. I am honored to have led the successful development of a gut microbiota-based diagnostic test, published as first author in Nature Medicine and presented at Digestive Disease Week 2024. This innovation, awarded a silver medal at the 2024 Geneva International Inventions Exhibition, is now being translated into a commercial diagnostic kit to address the urgent clinical need for non-invasive, cost-effective IBD diagnosis - a mission inspired by the observations of delayed diagnoses and patient suffering.

The Forum's emphasis on translational science and cross-disciplinary collaboration aligns with my goals. I am eager to meet with Shaw Laureates and global scholars, disseminate our innovative test and seek expert feedback on biomarker development and clinical translation. I hope I can contribute expertise in the microbiome field, learn from global pioneers, and advance the Forum’s vision of science-driven societal change.

Abstract of research:
Despite recent progress in our understanding of the association between the gut microbiome and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the role of microbiome biomarkers in IBD diagnosis remains underexplored. Here we developed a microbiome-based diagnostic test for IBD. By utilization of metagenomic data from 5,979 fecal samples with and without IBD from different geographies and ethnicities, we identified microbiota alterations in IBD and selected ten and nine bacterial species for construction of diagnostic models for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, respectively. These diagnostic models achieved areas under the curve >0.90 for distinguishing IBD from controls in the discovery cohort, and maintained satisfactory performance in transethnic validation cohorts from eight populations. We further developed a multiplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction test targeting selected IBD-associated bacterial species, and models based on this test showed numerically higher performance than fecal calprotectin in discriminating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease from controls. Here we discovered universal IBD-associated bacteria and showed the potential applicability of a multibacteria biomarker panel as a noninvasive tool for IBD diagnosis.

Current research interest:
Investigate the role of gut microbiome in inflammatory bowel disease