Collection of Skin, Oral, Vaginal, and Fecal Microbiome Samples from Healthy Western Donors for Basic Microbiome Research at Ghent University

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are building a collection of microbiome samples from healthy Western donors aged 2 to 70 years to better understand how microbes living on and in our bodies affect health. These microbes play key roles in digestion, vitamin production, and immune regulation. The study aims to compare samples from healthy Western individuals with those from indigenous populations to explore how changes in microbiomes might relate to diseases like Crohns disease, arthritis, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Participants will provide skin, oral, vaginal if applicable, and fecal samples using swabs and a specialized collection kit. No treatments or interventions are administered. Vaginal samples are collected only from women aged 18 to 45. The collected samples will support fundamental and functional research on microbiota-host interactions at Ghent University. During the study, researchers will analyze the composition of the microbiome and metabolome in the collected samples using metagenomics and metabolomics over four years. They will also measure disease progression indicators such as weight, stool blood presence, stool consistency, serum glucose levels, and immune activation when different microbiota are administered. This study involves no treatments but focuses on sample collection and analysis to advance understanding of microbial impacts on health.

Collection of Microbiome Samples of Healthy Western Donors for Fundamental and Functional Microbiome Research