Dr. Karen Madsen is Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta and Director of the “Center of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research (CEGIIR)”. The primary focus of her research is the relationship between the host and its resident microbiota, with particular interest in the role of microbes in inflammatory bowel diseases and metabolic disorders and how environmental factors and diet can modulate these interactions. The overarching goal of her research program is to gain mechanistic knowledge of these interactions to design effective therapeutic interventions aimed at the manipulation of the gut microbiota to improve human health.