THE MICROBIOME, DIET AND 
           HEALTH: TOWARD A SCIENCE 
            AND INNOVATION AGENDA
        OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Papers No. 42 (2017), DOI: 
        https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/d496f56d-en
        Primary author: Kathleen D’Hondt
        The report builds on an OECD workshop organised in May 2016 entitled, “The 
        Microbiome, Diet and Health: Assessing the Gaps in Science and Innovation.” 
        Hosted in Brussels by the Belgian Delegation to the BNCT
    An explosion of interest
                 Alignment with the Implementation Action Plan
                 for the Italian Microbiome Initiative
                  “At a minimum, public          “Classifications need                                        “There is a need for 
                    or private research             to converge and            “Public engagement              new technology 
                   funds should be spent          common standards            in research projects is           development, 
                     in such a way that           and endpoints have          strongly indicative of        engineering, computer 
                      complementary               to be introduced as            the huge public                modelling and 
                      information is              an easier approach               interest in                bioinformatics. The 
                   generated across the           to opening up some          developments in this           future workforce and 
                     public and private            of the regulatory                 field.”                  scientists should be 
                                                       barriers.”                                             trained to combine 
                         sector.”
                                                                                                            these skills so that the 
                                                                                                              field can grow and 
                                                                                                                   mature.”
               Science policy
        •  International networking of research, together with structural funding for 
           transcontinental microbiome research programmes…
        •  …there is a need to further connect databases and information sources
        •  …new international consortia should move beyond microorganisms found in 
           humans and link the different microbiome research communities: 
             – plant; 
             – environmental; 
             – animal, and;
             – marine research.
        •  Large consortia should not be funded to the exclusion of smaller…
        •  …microbiome science will require deeper understanding of:
             – the host-microbiome nexus; 
             – what constitutes a healthy microbiome