How DNA sequencing approaches can help us understand the hidden dark matter of the human microbiome
- Mon 26th Jan 2026
- 19:30-21:00
- Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Churchill College, Storey's Way, Cambridge, CB3 0DS
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The study of the human microbiome has emerged as a new frontier in biomedical science. Throughout the past decades, a growing body of research is revealing that the types of microbes living in or on us are implicated in many human diseases. However, thousands of bacteria and viruses that are part of the normal human microbiome are largely unknown. In this presentation, I will highlight how our team at the University of Cambridge is applying large-scale computational approaches that leverage metagenomics, machine learning and systems biology to advance our understanding on how the gut microbiome may be involved in health and disease.
Dr. Alexandre Almeida, School of the Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge
Alex is a Principal Investigator at the University of Cambridge, where he leads a research group focused on understanding the human microbiome's role in health and disease. He completed his BSc and MSc in Biochemistry and Forensic Genetics from the University of Porto, before moving to Paris in 2013 to pursue a PhD at the Institut Pasteur. In 2017, Alex joined the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge as a Postdoctoral Fellow, developing new computational methods to analyze the human gut microbiome. His work led to the identification of thousands of as-yet uncultivated bacteria and viruses in the gut microbiome, and the generation of a public genome catalog that has become widely used today. Since 2022, Alex has held an MRC Career Development Award fellowship to lead a team dedicated to characterizing the relevance of this newly uncovered microbial diversity to human health and disease.
Attending lectures
The lecture will be preceded by a short presentation from a CSAR PhD Award Winner.
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Dr. Adam Rochussen, Panda Lab, Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, La Jolla, CA, USA