Organized by the Marmara University Faculty of Pharmacy, the "Current Developments in Microbiota Symposium" was held on March 22, 2022, at the Faculty of Pharmacy Conference Hall. Opening speeches of the symposium, in which the factors affecting the microbiota and the importance of nutrition for the development of healthy microbiota were discussed, were made by Assoc. Prof. Özlem Bingöl Özakpınar and Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy Prof. Dr. Hatice Kübra Elçioğlu.
Stating that the human gut microbiota is accepted as a potential modulator of human biology, Assoc. Prof. Özakpınar said, “The new generation DNA sequencing and functional studies, which started with the 'Microbiome Project' for the first time in 2007, began to reveal how important these creatures are to our evolution, development, metabolism, immunity, and susceptibility to numerous communicable and non-communicable diseases. Saying that “we will continue to understand the importance of the microbiome project, which will take its share from the dizzying advances in the world of medicine and health, for our health, Özakpınar continued her speech "Although there have been important studies explaining the role of microbiota in humans in the last few years, what we need today is to correctly understand the molecules and mechanisms that play this role, and to use this information to improve health and reduce diseases."
Stating that microbiota is an area that has attracted a lot of attention in the world and Turkey in recent years and is closely related to human health, Prof. Dr. Elçioğlu said, “Through this symposium, we see the duty of our universities to raise awareness of the society about healthy nutrition and quality of life and in this regard". Prof. Elçioğlu said that the symposium aimed to emphasize the importance of bringing healthy bacteria to our body, personalized treatment approaches, appropriate nutritional methods, using the microbiota as a model in the treatment of diseases and to raise awareness about a new field, the microbiota.
In the symposium, where academics from various universities took part as speakers, microbiota and its clinical importance, the relationship of microbiota with diseases and nutrition were discussed.
