Melius MicroBiomics Inc.A recent feature by UBC News highlights how years of microbiome research in Dr. Deanna Gibson’s lab at UBCO led to the creation of Melius MicroBiomics (MMB). The article explores the journey from solving why standard probiotics struggle in an inflamed gut to bioengineering targeted microbial therapeutics, all while building a thriving biotech hub and creating research jobs right here in Kelowna as the company approaches its first clinical trials.
Link: Read the full article on UBC News
We are excited to celebrate our Master’s student, Madeline Frazer, as a recipient of a prestigious scholarship through the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF)!
These awards provide $10,000 to support impactful graduate research in wildlife management and conservation across British Columbia. Madeline was recently featured in regional coverage for her outstanding work and research contributions.
Congratulations, Madeline!
News Article: Read the coverage in the North Island Gazette
Dr. Deanna Gibson is leading a new Genome BC-funded project through the DAIA2 program titled “Integrated Multi-Omics to Predict and Understand IBD.” The research investigates how interactions between diet, genomic data, and the gut microbiome can help predict flare-ups and enable personalized care for individuals living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Link: Read the full news feature on the Centre for Brain Health website
After more than a decade of dedicated research in Dr. Deanna Gibson’s lab, we are thrilled to share that UBC Okanagan News has highlighted our team’s exciting milestone: our bioengineered probiotic therapeutic is officially heading to human clinical trials!
Standard commercial probiotics often struggle to make an impact during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare-ups because they tend to wash out of the gut, essentially, trying to plant a seed in a burning field. To solve this, our team, led by Dr. Deanna Gibson and Dr. Andrea Verdugo-Meza (who completed her PhD in the lab), alongside former MSc student Sandeep Gill, set out to flip the script.
Instead of fighting the inflammation, we engineered a specialized live biotherapeutic designed to use inflammation as fuel.
In pre-clinical studies, the modified strain successfully bloomed precisely when and where active colitis occurred, naturally receding once healing began. What makes these findings so encouraging is the broad-spectrum effect: we observed significant improvements across the gut barrier, the immune response, and the overall microbial community, all achieved with low, infrequent dosing and without antibiotics.
This incredible journey from bench science to clinical translation marks a major step forward for microbiome medicine, paving the way for targeted treatments that work in harmony with the body’s natural biology.
Read the full feature on UBC’s Okanagan News: Researchers Engineer a Probiotic That’s Heading to Human Trials
A recent news release by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada highlights the journey of BioPersist, a bioengineered microbial therapy developed in Dr. Deanna Gibson’s lab at UBCO.
Standard probiotics often struggle to survive or colonize within an inflamed gut. To tackle this challenge, Dr. Gibson and our research team developed BioPersist, a specially engineered live biotherapeutic designed to bloom during an inflammatory response, outcompeting harmful bacteria and promoting intestinal barrier recovery through multiple therapeutic pathways. In early-stage models, BioPersist has shown remarkable promise, outperforming traditional mainstays of IBD treatment.
This innovation was made possible thanks to early seed funding from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. That initial support has now propelled the founding of Melius MicroBiomics (MMB), the very first spin-off company born out of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada funding! Based right here in Kelowna and Vancouver, MMB is translating this discovery from the lab bench to clinical trials to deliver real-world impact for patients living with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
We are very proud of our hard-working students, trainees, and collaborators whose dedication brought this technology to life, and deeply grateful to the donors who support innovative science.
???? Read the full news feature on Crohn’s and Colitis Canada: How Donor Support Sparked BioPersist