Feeding the Microbiome, Facing the Future: Prebiotics, Probiotics, and What's Next for Gut Health
Speakers:
Natasha Haskey, RD PhD (University of British Columbia) and André Marette, PhD (Université Laval)
Webinar description:
The gut microbiome is no longer viewed as a collection of individually "good" or "bad" microbes — it's an interdependent community, and that shift in understanding is changing how nutrition professionals think about gut health. In this conversational session, Dr. Natasha Haskey PhD RD (University of British Columbia Okangan) and Dr. André Marette PhD (Université Laval) trade questions and perspectives on what the current evidence really shows about targeted dietary approaches to the microbiome: prebiotic fibres, and polyphenols, alongside probiotics, and why clinical results have so often been inconsistent. They'll close by looking to the future, including emerging personalized-nutrition and machine-learning approaches that may soon allow dietary recommendations to be tailored to an individual's own microbiome. Participants will leave with a clearer, evidence-based framework for discussing prebiotics and probiotics in practice, and a preview of where the field is headed next.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the webinar participants will be able to:
- Describe how the gut microbiome functions as an interdependent community rather than a collection of individually "good" or "bad" microbes, and explain why this shift in understanding matters for nutrition practice.
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Evaluate the current evidence on prebiotics (fibre, polyphenols, omega-3 fatty acids) and probiotics for gut and metabolic health.
- Identify emerging directions in personalized nutrition and microbiome science, including machine-learning-based approaches, and consider their implications for future dietary recommendations in clinical and public health practice.
Moderator: TBC
About the Speakers:
Natasha Haskey RD, PhD -
Dr. Natasha Haskey is a Research Associate in the Department of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan (Kelowna, BC) whose research explores how diet shapes the intestinal microbiome and influences digestive diseases—especially inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A registered dietitian and clinician-scientist with over two decades of experience, she led the first study investigating the Mediterranean diet’s influence on ulcerative colitis.
Dr Haskey is co-author of the textbook Gut Microbiota: Interactive Effects on Health and Nutrition and IBS for Dummies. In parallel with her research, she practices as a dietitian and partners with the digital wellness platform LyfeMD to support individuals with inflammatory conditions.
An alumna of TRIANGLE and the Advanced Dietary IBD Education and Training Program at Cedars‑Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, she combines rigorous academic training with applied nutrition expertise, positioning her at the forefront of precision nutrition in gut health.
André Marette, PhD - bio coming soon
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