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December 15, 2025
Highlights of the consortium meeting of 18th November 2025
Our recent consortium meeting was packed with interactive sessions, lively discussions, and inspiring ideas.
We kicked off with three dynamic sessions:
Gut vs. Oral Microbiome
Chaired by Denise Duijster (WP2) and Bastiaan Krom (WP4), this session began with pitches by Stanley Brul (SILS) and Egija Zaura (ACTA). The discussion explored parallels, differences, and unique paradigms between the gut and oral microbiomes.
Systems Analysis Workshop
Led by Coosje Dijkstra, this session introduced the principles of systems thinking and then applied them to real-world challenges such as childhood obesity and caries. Despite the “pressure-cooker” format, participants quickly learned how complex and essential a systems approach can be.
Integrating Personas with Agent-Based Modelling
Chaired by Vivek Sheraton (WP3) and Janine Sikkens (WP6), this hands-on workshop featured pitches by PhD students Lea Hohendorf (WP6) and Shivam Kumar (WP3). Using the ‘Microbiome Sandbox’ simulation tool, participants tested real-life scenarios in groups, generating valuable feedback to refine the model.
Systems Analysis Workshop Scenario testing
Networking & Posters
Coffee and lunch breaks offered plenty of time for networking and exploring 14 posters, 11 of which were prepared by our talented junior scientists. In the afternoon, each poster was pitched to the full audience, leading to insightful discussions.
Posters & presentations:
- Sofía Jimenes Ochoa (WP4): Interplay between diet, biofilm formation and host effect in healthy Host-Microbiome Interactions in the infant oral cavity
- Aliki Antoniou (WP4): Developing a physiologically relevant In vitro model to study infant gut microbiome interactions
- Coen Berns (WP3/WP4): From carbon source to microbial marketplace: Integrating WP4’s in vitro data in metabolic models to reveal infant microbial interactions
- Karla Mueller (WP3): Modelling the eco-evolutionary dynamics of the infant’s microbiome over the first thousand days
- Shivam Kumar (WP3): Mechanisms of early oral biofilm virulence emergence: Insights from a hybrid multiscale framework
- Nicho Pucci (WP2): bifidoAnnotator: fine-grained annotation of bifidobacterial enzymes for human milk glycan utilization
- Ines Magalhaes (WP2): Maternal obesity and early-life microbiota: Implications on immune cell activation
- Carla Rodrigues and Lola Kurpershoek (WP2): Picturing microbes in everyday life: A participatory photography study of parents’ conceptions, care practices, and sensory encounters with the microbes
- Soely Mandrone (WP1): Whose knowledge counts? Insights from observations of healthcare professionals and parents in child health consultations
- Lea Hohendorf (WP6): “Voices that shape care: Multi-stakeholder persona development for inclusive pediatric eHealth design
- Vera van Stokkum (WP6): Where, With Whom, What and How: Exploring children’s views on primary school eating practices
- Monique van der Veen (WP1): Understanding oral health challenges: parental perspectives from Amsterdam-Southeast
- Monique van der Veen (WP1): The child-friendliness of oral care practices
in Amsterdam-North
- Nympheae Notschaele (WP6): Oral health education for young children: Digital tools & interprofessional collaboration research
The day concluded with opportunities for collaboration within work packages, while the project leader and manager met with the MetaHealth advisory board for the biannual review of the project.
From left to right: Ines, Lea and Nymphea presenting their posters
