Probiotics and Prebiotics

Susana Marta Isay Saad studied Pharmacy and Biochemistry at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil (1982), where she also received her Master of Science Degree (1993) and PhD Degree (1997) in Food Science and conducted her Post-Doc work in Food Technology (2000). Nowadays (since 2017), she is Full Professor at the University of São Paulo and works at the Department of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology - School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, since January 2000 (Associate Professor from 2007-2017), where she teaches Food Technology for the undergraduate students and “Probiotic cultures: technological applications” and “Probiotics in food products and their effects on human’s health” for MSc and PhD candidates. Susana and the Post-Doc researchers, and the PhD, MSc, and undergraduate students of her lab and under her supervision develop dairy and non-dairy products supplemented with probiotic cultures, associated or not with prebiotic ingredients. They evaluate microbiological, instrumental texture, physico-chemical and sensory parameters of the products being developed, during their refrigerated shelf-life. The evaluation of different parameters is conducted in order to verify the probiotic and/or synbiotic potential of each product, as well as its market potential. At the same time, they evaluate the probiotic and the synbiotic potential of the food products developed through in vitro tests, using static, as well as dynamic systems. Moreover, clinical randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials to evaluate probiotic and synbiotic effects in humans have also been applied. Susana is Vice-Head of the Department of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology/ School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. She has been involved in several international projects, as the coordinator or as a member. Currently, she is the Brazilian coordinator of the project “Bioactive components from by-products of food processing used in a synbiotic approach for improving human health and well-being (BioSyn)” from FAPESP (project #2013/50506-8), within the frame of the international thematic project “Strategic Research Collaboration in Food Science in the State of São Paulo, Brazil and Denmark – 2013” FAPESP/DCSR, and associate researcher of the thematic institutional project from FAPESP – CEPID – Research, Innovation and Diffusion Center called “Food Research Center” or FoRC (project #2013/07914-8).

Food Science and Technology – Development and evaluation of dairy and non-dairy food products supplemented with probiotic cultures and/or prebiotic ingredients and evaluation of potential health effects. Objectives: Develop dairy and non-dairy products supplemented with probiotic cultures, either individually or combined, associated or not with prebiotic ingredients; evaluate the probiotic and synbiotic potential of the products developed through static and dynamic systems and through human clinical trials, besides evaluating microbiological, instrumental texture, physico-chemical, and sensory parameters of the products being developed, during their shelf-life.

Dr. Jun Sun is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an elected fellow of American Gastroenterological Associate. Her key achievements include 1) characterization of vitamin D receptor regulation of microbiome in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation, 2) identification of dysbiosis and intestinal dysfunction in ALS, and 3) identification of Salmonella in regulating intestinal stem cells. Dr. Sun has published over 150 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Gut, Cell Stem Cells, Nature Genetics, JBC. She is in the editorial board of 10 scientific journals. Her research is supported by the NIH, DOD, and other awards.

microbiome in intestinal homeostasis , identification of dysbiosis and intestinal dysfunction , identification of Salmonella in regulating intestinal stem cells.

Dr. Ouwehand received his B.Sc. in biology and chemistry in Utrecht (the Netherlands) 1987, his M.Sc. degree (1992) in cell biology from Wageningen University (the Netherlands) and his Ph.D. degree (1996) in microbiology from Göteborg University (Sweden). Since 1999 he is Adjunct Professor in Applied Microbiology at the Turku University (Finland) and since 2004 he has been working for Danisco; now DuPont Nutrition and Health. Dr. Ouwehand is the author of more than 250 journal articles and book chapters; he is the editor of four books on lactic acid bacteria and the intestinal microbiota and co-inventor on 15 approved patents.

Cell biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Nutrition and Health, Intestinal microbiota etc...