Within the gut resides a vast ecosystem of bacteria, fungi and viruses, otherwise known as the gut microbiota. This ecosystem comprises 90 percent of the cells in our body. Our normal human cells therefore constitute only a minority of the cells in our body.

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We are working with scientists to unravel the exact nature of these organisms in our gut, and the role they play in causing or curing disease. New molecular techniques are identifying previously unknown bacterial species. New insights are also emerging about the effect of diet on the gut bacteria and how this might affect gut inflammation.

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The presence and function of the microbiota are essential to our wellbeing - these organisms perform a range of functions critical to development, growth, metabolic function, and protection from disease.  However, the gut microbiota is now also thought to play some role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, arthritis, and allergic diseases.

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Identifying particular bacteria that play a role in disease can have an enormous impact. For example, identification of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori by Australian Nobel prize-winning researchers led to the virtual eradication of stomach and bowel ulcer disease. That single observation was one of the key medical discoveries of the twentieth century.

Of a similar magnitude, discovery of the rotavirus as the commonest cause of childhood diarrhoea, by scientists at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, together with the subsequent development of a vaccine, has had a huge impact on childhood illness and death worldwide. There are more discoveries to be made in this area.

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