Integrative Practitioner Digital Summit
THE MICROBIOME

Microbiome and Its Epigenetic Role in Dictating the Balance Between Health and Disease

Improved hygiene leading to a reduced exposure to microorganisms have been implicated as one possible cause for the recent ‘epidemic’ of chronic inflammatory diseases in industrialized countries. This session will explain what key factors are necessary and sufficient for the development of chronic inflammatory diseases. Additionally, the session will justify why a balanced microbiome is essential for good human health and will discuss why nutrition is the most impactful factor affecting gut microbiome composition and function.

Integrative Healthcare Symposium

Educational session originally presented at the 2020 Integrative Healthcare Symposium

Alessio Fasano, MD

Speaker: Alessio Fasano, MD

World-renowned pediatric gastroenterologist, research scientist and entrepreneur Dr. Alessio Fasano is chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC). Dr. Fasano directs the Center for Celiac Research, specializing in the treatment of patients of all ages with gluten-related disorders, including celiac disease, wheat allergy and gluten sensitivity. He treats patients with acute and chronic diarrheal diseases, and treats infants and children who have difficult-to-treat gastrointestinal problems.

Dr. Fasano also directs the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center and is associate chief for Basic, Clinical and Translational Research. Under his leadership, investigators are studying the molecular mechanisms of autoimmune disorders including celiac disease, and other-gluten-related disorders. He has been named visiting professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He authored the groundbreaking study in 2003 that established the rate of celiac disease at one in 133 Americans. Widely sought after by national and international media, Dr. Fasano has been featured in hundreds of interviews including outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal; National Public Radio; CNN; Bloomberg News, and others.

Biography and photograph courtesy of Massachusetts General Hospital.