CBM Seminar Series – Pioneering Microbiome Medicine for Human Health

The College of Biomedicine was pleased to host Professor Siew Ng from the Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as a distinguished speaker in the CBM Seminar Series on 13 April 2026. Professor Ng's research focuses on discovering microbial signatures for diagnosing colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and autism spectrum disorder, while advancing microbiome-based therapies and leading large-scale epidemiological studies on IBD across Asia-Pacific.

In her insightful talk, Professor Ng redefined the human gut as more than a digestive organ-presenting it as an intriguing "second brain" with immense clinical potential. She explained how microbial dysbiosis is linked to a range of diseases, from cancer, IBD to neurodevelopmental conditions and obesity, while emphasising the power of systematically characterising the faecal microbiome to develop non-invasive diagnostics.

Professor Ng shared a decade of her team's research, showcasing three key areas: using the microbiome to predict disease, the role of diet in personalised medicine, and the expanding use of microbiota modulation-including faecal microbiota transplantation and oral microbiome consortia. She highlighted how AI-driven algorithms are now being integrated to accelerate these advances, bridging microbial science with modern precision medicine.

The seminar was met with enthusiasm, sparking engaging discussions with the audience. It also reaffirmed the growing importance of the gut microbiome in shaping the future of biomedical research and clinical practice.