Speaker Abstract RCMM 2017: Dr. Sanjay Chotirmall

Abstract: Dr Sanjay Chotirmall

Debugging Lung Disease: Applying Precision Medicine and Metagenomics to the Pulmonary Microbiome

In precision medicine, the focus is on the identification of effective approaches for particular patients based on their genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors. Asian phenotypes of respiratory disease and infection are unique and therefore require such precision. While such approaches have been successfully employed to investigate contrasting clinical phenotypes; and by disease trajectories, little is known about ‘precision through microbes’. Using bronchiectasis, a permanent irreversible dilatation of the airway of high prevalence in Asia in a proof-of-concept study, we have detected that precision medicine can be applied to the lung microbiome that includes both bacteria and fungi. These ‘microbial fingerprints’ permit patient stratification and we can identify particular disease phenotypes associated to clinical outcomes potentially amenable to precision and individualised intervention. It is clear that our microbes tell us something about disease, something representing a target for clinical intervention. This presentation will summarise our current studies in this area with focus on the bronchiectasis microbiome and the emerging field of sputum metagenomics.