Rational improvement of biomass yield and stability of probiotic bifidobacteria - A systems biology approach

Research Project, 2018 – 2022

Bifidobacteria are widely used as probiotics in various commercial products owing to their well-documented health-promoting properties. Despite numerous clinical studies demonstrating their beneficial effects to human health or elucidating underlying mechanisms, the physiological and metabolic characteristics of bifidobacteria remain to be explored in greater depth.

The PhD project aims at employing state-of-the-art constraint-based modeling and data-driven approaches, combined with thorough physiological characterization, to gain deeper insights into the physiology and metabolism of industrially important Bifidobacterium species. The primary objective will be to identify the factors influencing growth and stability of probiotic bifidobacteria.

The project is partially funded by Innovation Fund Denmark (Innovationsfonden) and is carried out in collaboration between Chr. Hansen A/S and Chalmers University of Technology.