Executive Board
Giovanni Barbara
Chair
Dr. Barbara is Professor of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Bologna. His research focuses on neurogastroenterology, brain-gut interactions, and the intestinal microenvironment (microbiota-host interactions). He is member of the Steering Committee of ESNM and member of the Board of Directors of the Rome Foundation. He holds the Master Award in Gastroenterology for Basic and Clinical Research in Digestive Science from the American Gastroenterological Association.Daniel Pohl
Treasurer
Daniel Pohl is Head of the Neurogastroenterology and Motility Unit at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. Besides managing a very busy clinic his research interests include upper gut motility and dysmotility, nutrient intolerance and disorders of brain-gut interaction. Daniel is the co-founder of the Swiss Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (SwissNGM) and Member of the executive committee of the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM).René van den Wijngaard
Editorial Board Coordinator
Dr van den Wijngaard’s research focus is on the role of mast cells and gut fungi/yeast in abdominal pain complaints of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He undertook his PhD training at Amsterdam UMC where he next became a scientific staff member in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He carries out his research activities in the Gut Research group at the Tytgat Institute for Liver and Intestinal Research.Board of Experts
Premysl Bercik
Canada
Dr. Bercik obtained an MD degree from Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia. He then pursued post-graduate doctoral studies at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, where he investigated neural control of gastrointestinal motility.Elena Verdú
Canada
Dr. Verdu’s research has focused on the pathophysiology of inflammatory and functional gastrointestinal disorders. She undertook clinical research training at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, where she studied the interaction between chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori and gastritis in humans and the possible therapeutic role of probiotic bacteria.James Versalovic
United States of America
Dr. Versalovic currently serves as Pathologist-In-Chief at Texas Children’s Hospital. He also serves as Vice Chair of Pathology & Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), and Director of the Texas Children’s Microbiome Center. He holds the Milton J. Finegold endowed chair as Professor of Pathology & Immunology, and is Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at BCM.Stéphane Schneider
France
Professor Stéphane Schneider heads the Gastroenterology and Nutrition Department of Archet University Hospital in Nice (France). He is Treasurer of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). His interests include intestinal diseases and the role of the microbiota in these diseases.Hervé M. Blottière
France
Research Director at INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agricultural and Food Research, Hervé Blottière presently heads a research laboratory studying the Human Intestinal Ecosystem within the MICALIS institute “Food and Gut Microbiology for Human Health”.Joël Doré
France
Research Director at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, INRAE, Dr. Joël Doré is currently Scientific Director of the Pre-Industrial Demonstrator MetaGenoPolis, a platform of excellence dedicated to quantitative and functional metagenomics, funded by the French government Futures Investments. He is co-lead of a research team of the MICALIS institute “Food and Gut Microbiology for Human Health”.Amandine Everard
Belgium
Professor Everard is a senior researcher from the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS-WEL Research Institute). She is leading a team at the Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI) from the University of Louvain (UCLouvain), Brussels, Belgium. The main topic of interest of her team in research is to study how gut microbes are able to impact eating behaviours. More specifically, she is investigating the interactions between the gut microbiota, the intestine and the brain in the context of obesity and eating disorders.Karen Madsen
Canada
Dr. Karen Madsen is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta and Director of the Centre of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research (CEGIIR). She specializes in studying the gut microbiome's role in health and disease, focusing on therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic disorders. Dr. Madsen has published over 150 research papers and received multiple awards for her contributions to medical research and education. You can follow her on X at @madsen_ca.Patrick Veiga
France
Patrick Veiga is a Research Director specializing in gut microbiota and its links with nutrition and health. He is the Scientific Director of the Le French Gut project and of MetaGenoPolis, the lab coordinating it. He also serves as a board member of the Pharmabiotic Research Institute. Throughout his career, he has worked in both academia and industry, including as a visiting researcher at Harvard University. His expertise spans gut microbiota research, nutrition, probiotics, and the emerging field of precision nutrition.Publishing team
Andreu Prados
Editor - Spain
Andreu Prados is a science and medical writer specializing in making trusted evidence of gut microbiome-related treatments understandable, engaging and ready for use for a range of audiences. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Pharmacy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics and a PhD in nutrition communication. Follow Andreu on Twitter @andreupradosCristina Sáez
Editor - Spain
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She coordinates the science section of the newspaper ARA and writes for several media, such as National Geographic Magazine, research centers, and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work with some awards, such as the Boehringer Ingelheim, the Roche Foundation, Accenture, or Concha Garcia Campoy Awards, all in Medical Journalism. She is the author of "La ciencia de microbiota" (Cúpula, 2022) and "Siempre adelante", the memoirs of the Cardiologist Valentí Fuster (Cúpula, 2024). Follow Cristina on Bluesky @crisaez.bsky.socialManon Oliero
Editor - Canada
Manon Oliero, Ph.D., specializes in nutrition and the gut microbiome, having completed her master's degree in microbiology with a focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and her Ph.D. on colorectal cancer. With a passion for improving public health, she is currently engaged in conducting clinical trials involving nutritional interventions. As a dedicated researcher, Manon emphasizes the importance of empowering individuals to take control of their health through knowledge sharing, contributing her expertise to Gut Microbiota For Health.Konstantina Zafeiropoulou
Editor - Netherlands
Konstantina Zafeiropoulou is a dietitian with strong scientific interest in the diet-microbiota interactions and their role in human health and disease. She holds a Master of Science in Human Nutrition from the University of Glasgow, during which she explored the involvement of gut microbiota in the etiopathogenesis of Celiac Disease and evaluated the gluten free diet-microbiota interactions. She is currently a PhD candidate at Amsterdam UMC unraveling the role of gut microbiota and long-term dietary patterns in the development of postoperative colorectal anastomotic leakage. Follow Konstantina on Twitter @zaf_kon and LinkedIn.Mónica Quinzo
Editor - Spain
Mónica Quinzo is a biomedical researcher working on her PhD about gut parasitic nematodes and vaccine research at the National Center of Microbiology in Madrid. She holds a bachelor’s in Biochemistry and a master’s in Immunology. She is passionate about the role of the gut microbiome in the modulation of host immunity in health and disease. She is really concerned about the importance of empowering people through scientific communication to enable conscious and healthier decisions. Follow Mónica on twitter: @MonicaQuinzoGiovana Martucelli
Editor - Brazil
Giovana Martucelli is a nutritionist with a specialization in Clinical and Hospital Nutrition and practical training in Nutritional Therapy. She is currently a Master’s student in Gastroenterology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP), where she works as a researcher at the Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Surgery of the Digestive System (METANUTRI/LIM-35).
With over seven years of research experience, she has built a strong background in the field of gut microbiota, with a particular focus on precision medicine. She is the author of several works presented at national and international conferences and has received awards such as the Best of ASPEN – GI Topics (2025) and the Research Travel Award (ESPEN, 2024).
