The Human Microbiome and Infectious Diseases: Beyond Koch

Call for Papers

A century after Robert Koch linked individual cultured microbes to specific diseases (Koch's postulates), it is increasingly apparent that the complex community of microorganisms associated with the human body (the “microbiome”) plays a key role in health and disease. The National Institute of Health (NIH) recently announced the Human Microbiome Project and among its goals is to understand the relationship between host-associated microbial communities and disease. Many physicians and researchers, however, have only passing familiarity with the concepts involved in the study and therapeutic manipulation of complex microbial communities. The aims of this special issue are (1) to familiarize the readers with the concepts and methods for the study of complex microbial communities, (2) to demonstrate how changes in the indigenous microbial community can play a role in diseases such as antibiotic-associated diarrhea, bacterial vaginosis, and cystic fibrosis, and (3) to review how probiotics may hold promise for the therapeutic manipulation of the indigenous microbiota. Review articles and original research papers are being sought for this special issue.

Authors should follow the Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases manuscript format described at the journal site http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ipid/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/, according to the following timetable:

Manuscript DueAugust 1, 2008
First Round of ReviewsNovember 1, 2008
Publication DateFebruary 1, 2009

Guest Editors

  • Vincent B. Young, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5378, USA
  • Robert A. Britton, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-4320, USA
  • Thomas M. Schmidt, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-4320, USA