In a fascinating longform article published on News-Medical.net in 2016, Professor Jeremy Nicholson, head of the world-leading Australian National Phenome Centre at CRC partner institution Murdoch University and CRC Research Program 3 lead, gives his expert take on some of the most significant and pressing challenges of 21st century healthcare.
Though the interview was conducted well prior to 2020’s COVID-19-pandemic, the challenges discussed continue to be major issues for healthcare. Indeed, the pandemic has only intensified the importance of Prof. Nicholson’s work – then, at Imperial College London and now, at the ANPC – in exploring the key role our gut microbiomes play in determining lifelong health.
Prof. Nicholson’s game-changing research into the complex nexus of genetics, environment, the microbiome and disease is poised to transform the future of healthcare.
Microbiome-related research into the ‘metabolic profiles’ of disease will enable precisely targeted delivery of drugs for diseases such as cancer as well as personalised dietary intervention strategies, Professor Nicholson says.
Meanwhile, advanced equipment such as the iKnife is already improving surgery by providing near-real-time biochemical feedback on the individual patient via analysing the ‘smoke’ emanating from the electronic scalpel.
And these are just two examples.
Potential applications of such research include everything from speeding recovery times and shortening (costly) hospital stays to improving health outcomes and reducing mortality from the world’s most costly and damaging lifestyle-related diseases.
Source: Tackling healthcare challenges in a changing world: an interview with Professor Jeremy Nicholson I News-Medical.net