Awardees for the 2009 Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research...( ALEXANDRIA Va. July 21 /- The G...),Health

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Probiotics Council (GPC), a committee established in 2004 by DANONE and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., announced the two recipients of the annual Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research (YIGPRO) today. The program was created to identify young rising stars who will continue to contribute to the advancement of probiotics and gastrointestinal microbiota research in the United States. This year, the grant focus is on the role of probiotics in health and disease.

Glynis L. Kolling, PhD, an Instructor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health at the University of Virginia was selected for her research proposal, "The Influence of Novel Oligopeptides Produced by Transgenic Bacteria on Intestinal Injury Due to C. difficile Infection." After certain inflammatory conditions, drug treatments, or infections, human gut microbiota can become unbalanced. This research will focus on creating a bacterial delivery system that will promote intestinal repair and restore the balance of normal microbiota. Dr. Kolling's work could help patients who experience antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) after receiving antibiotic treatment.

The other grant will be awarded to Xinhua Chen, PhD, who is an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His proposal is titled "Protective Role of Baker's Yeast in Colonic Inflammation and Cancer." This study could make an important contribution in understanding the mechanisms by which yeast, which has been used for centuries for the production of fermented foods, may prove to be preventative or therapeutic in fighting intestinal inflammation and colon cancer. The GI tract has an extremely complicated ecosystem and Dr. Chen's work should contribute to the growing understanding of the mechanisms on how probiotics work in GI disorders.