A timely talk for the times! – “A Microbiome Revolution”

Our March speaker, Dr. John North outlined the role of the microbiome in keeping us healthy. John’s background, researching virology and immunology and leading teams in the search for novel drugs to treat infectious disease, was particularly timely because we were on the cusp of discovering how a new corona virus was going to completely disrupt our lives. Talk about “bad bugs!” However, Dr. North’s talk, about the interaction between humans and our microbiome (both good bugs and bad bugs living on and in us) was so absorbing, we never asked about new bad bugs. Now I wish we had!

For those who wish a refresher on the topic or those who missed the talk, John North graciously made his power point presentation available to all of us via the following link:
Microbiome Presentation

Also of note, John teaches a class, titled “Good Bugs/Bad Bugs” at the Elder College campus in Parksville. Although Elder College (an extension program of Vancouver Island University) is temporarily closed due to Covid-19, a copy of the catalogue of courses is available at https://adm.viu.ca/eldercollege

We’re all looking forward to more exceptional speakers when our post-Covid lives return. Perhaps other health-related topics will be high on the agenda!