Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs):
Why are they essential to the resolution of inflammation?
sponsored by Solutex
Monday, 3 July | 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Inflammation is a vital biological response triggered by the immune system in response to injury, infection, or tissue damage. It serves as a protective mechanism aimed at eliminating harmful stimuli and initiating the healing process. However, if inflammation is not properly regulated, it can lead to chronic conditions and tissue damage.

The resolution of inflammation is a complex and hightly regulated process that occurs once the injurious stimuli have been neutralized and the healing process is initiated. It involves the active suppression of pro-inflammatory signals and the restoration of tissue homeostasis.

One crucial aspect of the resolution phase is the production of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), which play a pivotal role in dampening inflammation and promoting tissue repair.

SPMs have shown promise in various preclinical and clinical studies as potential therapeutic agents. They have demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects (and pro-resolving actions) in models of inflammatory diseases and have been explored for their potential in osteoarthritis, wound healing, tissue regeneration and chronic pain.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying resolution and exploring the therapeutic potential of SPMs may lead to new strategies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions and enhance the body's natural ability to resolve inflammation.

During the workshop we will deepen on the physiological mechanisms that determine the active resolution of the inflammatory response by SPMs, their immunomodulatory role in inflammatory chronic diseases such as neurodegeneration and we will address the most recent data published in humans after SPM supplementation together with the lipidomics evidence and potential for personalized nutrition.

About the Speakers
Dr. Valerio Chiurchiù, PhD | Institute of Translational Pharmacology, CNR and IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation | Italy

Dr. Josep Vergés Milano, PhD. | CEO & Scientific Director at Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI) | Spain

Gustavo A. Higuera, PhD. | Solutex Corporation | Spain

Recent advances on the role of SFA on metabolic health:
From nutrients to dairy foods
sponsored by CNIEL
Tuesday, 4 July | 10:00 aM - 11:30 aM

Chair: Philippe Legrand, Agrocampus, Rennes, France

An update and a reassessment of the impact of saturated fatty acids with a focus on dairy foods | Ian Givens (UK)

Full-fat dairy effects on blood lipids and CVD risk factors: towards a role of milk polar lipids | Marie-Caroline Michalski (France)

New doors opening on the essential roles of dairy fatty acids in human nutrition | Vincent Rioux (France)

About the Speakers
Pr. Philippe Legrand, PhD
PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from University of Paris in 1987 and post-doc at Cornell University (USA) in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. He is Professor and past-chairman of the laboratory of Biochemistry and Human Nutrition in Institut Agro (Agronomic University of Rennes). For more than 30 years, he performs research on fundamental aspects of fatty acid synthesis and metabolism. More precisely, he worked on the role of fatty acid desaturases showing the importance of stearic acid desaturase, showing that the conversion of poly-unsaturated n-6 and n-3 fatty acid shared the same desaturases, leading to the recommendations on the required n-6/n-3 balance in human diet. He works also on saturated fatty acids, showing their nutritional interest and the necessary evolution to distinguish between short / middle chain / long chain saturated fatty acids. He was chairman (1998-2011) of the French guidelines committees for the fatty acid dietary recommendations, in the Food Safety Agency (ANSES) where he proposed a new approach for considering lipids in general, and more precisely saturated fatty acids. He serves at the board of the French Nutrition Society SFN and worked several times as expert for European institutions. Author of more than 300 publications on Lipids, he received the CHEVREUL Medal award in Uppsala (Sweden) in 2017 for his research production in the field of lipids in Nutrition. He has been recently elected as member of the “Académie d’Agriculture de France”.

Pr. Ian Givens BSc (Hons), PhD, DFdSci (hc), FRSB, CBiol., RNutr. 
Professor Ian Givens has a background in biochemistry and nutrition and is a UK Registered Nutritionist, a Chartered Biologist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. He is currently Professor of Food Chain Nutrition and Director of the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH) at the University of Reading in the UK (https://research.reading.ac.uk/ifnh/). He is also a staff member of the Nutritional Science PhD programme of the University of Milan. His research has a primary focus on the consequences of consuming animal-derived foods, including their contribution to nutrient supply and their association with chronic disease risk across the key life stages. A current concern is the sub-optimal intake of bonetrophic nutrients by UK adolescent females which is likely to increase the risk of reduced bone strength in later life, especially in the post-menopausal period.  

Most recent research has concentrated on associations of dairy food consumption with risk of cardiometabolic diseases involving the analysis of data from long term prospective studies and human intervention trials aimed at both understanding mechanisms and evaluating novel makers of disease risk. This includes the effect of modifying the fatty acid composition of milk fat and its effect of markers of cardiovascular diseases. Current work includes meta-analyses on the associations between dairy food consumption and risk of bone breakage in a Danish cohort and between vitamin D status and immune function. Also, studies on the impact of whey protein on glycaemic control and vascular function are ongoing. Work is also ongoing to evaluate the potential of millets to reduce a number of highly prevalent diet-responsive diseases in young women and children in India.

Marie-Caroline Michalski, PhD
Marie-Caroline Michalski is Research Director at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE). She is head of a team in CarMeN laboratory in Lyon about the impact of lipid molecular and supramolecular structures on their intestinal absorption and metabolic impacts. Her current projects are about 'Metabolic impact of dietary fat structure' (including intestinal absorption, postprandial lipemia, lipid metabolism and endotoxemia/inflammation). MC Michalski has been awarded in 2022 the Chevreul Medal, delivered by the French Society for the Study of Lipids to an outstanding researcher, for her work in the field of lipid science and industrial applications.  

Pr. Vincent RIOUX, PhD
Vincent Rioux is Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry (Institut Agro, Rennes, France), since 2010. He is also leader of a research group working on the metabolism and physiological functions of lipids and fatty acids at the Nutrition-Metabolisms-Cancer Institute (NuMeCan). He is particularly interested in the metabolic fate and health impact of dietary fatty acids of dairy origin. He was the former (2014-2020) president of GERLI (Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche en Lipidomique), a French scientific society devoted to promote research in the field of lipids and lipidomics, which is linked to the French Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and to Euro Fed Lipid. Previously, Vincent Rioux obtained a PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2000, from the University of Rennes. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Cornell University (NY, USA), in the lab of Prof. André Bensadoun (Department of Nutritional Sciences). 

Fatty Acids, Lipids and Cannabis: The Influential Effects of Fatty Acids and Cannabinoid Interactions with the Endocannabinoid System
sponsored by KD Phyto
Tuesday, 4 July | 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

KD Phyto Sponsored Cannabis Workshop Chair: Alisia Ratliff, PMP, FRSC

KD Phyto Sponsored Cannabis Workshop Description:
The increased legalization of medical and recreational cannabis worldwide has triggered an exponential growth in preclinical and clinical studies in recent years. Science and research show that cannabinoids interact intensively with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that is found throughout the body in all vertebrates. The ECS has important regulatory functions in the brain and body, including motor control, cognition, emotional responses, motivated behavior, and contributes to health and homeostasis. This workshop will focus on how dietary omega-3 acids influence the endocannabinoid system as well as the pharmacology of cannabinoids in the gut microbiome.

Aim 1: Connect the concepts of how omega-3 acids interact with the endocannabinoid system.

Aim 2: Analyze the pharmacology of cannabinoids in the gut microbiome.

Aim 3: Synthesize a solid foundation on how the endocannabinoid system contributes to homeostasis.

Speakers:

Alisia Ratliff: Introduction to KD Phyto (Cannabinoids Division of KD Pharma)

Vincenzo Di Marzo, PhD: The gut microbiome: a new intermediate in cannabinoid complex pharmacology? (30 minutes, 20 minutes Presentation, 10 min question)

Sophie Layé, PhD: Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids influence the endocannabinoid system in the brain, a role in synaptic plasticity and behavior (30 minutes, 20 minutes Presentation, 10 min question)

Alisia Ratliff: Final Remarks

About the Speakers
Alisia Ratliff, PMP, FRSC
Contact: alisia.ratliff@kdpharmagroup.com
Alisia Ratliff is the Operational Director and Global Head of KD Phyto, located in Homburg Germany. KD Phyto specializes in phytocannabinoid ingredients for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical global market with a major focus on Europe. Alisia Ratliff, recently inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, pioneers high-level scientific operational roles where she demonstrates value in managing the construction of GMP-compliant facilities, formulating high quality pharmaceutical ingredients/products, and developing quality programs focusing on consumer safety. With over fifteen years of leadership experience, Alisia uses her technical knowledge to launch start-up agricultural, manufacturing and biotechnology companies by developing strategic direction and brand sustainability in new emerging markets. Direct and diplomatic, she conducts business using best practices while cultivating a collaborative work environment and implementing sustainable policies within ever-changing marketplaces.

Vincenzo Di Marzo, PhD
Contact: vincenzo.dimarzo@criucpq.ulaval.ca
Vincenzo Di Marzo holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair on the Microbiome-Endocannabinoidome Axis in Metabolic Health (CERC-MEND) at Université Laval in Quebec, Canada and Associate Research Director at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the National Research Council (ICB-CNR) in Naples, Italy. He is also the coordinator of the Endocannabinoid Research Group in the Naples region, and the director of the Joint International Research Unit between the Italian National Research Council and Université Laval, for Chemical and Biomolecular Research on the Microbiome and its impact on Metabolic Health and Nutrition (UMI-MicroMeNu). He holds a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Naples “Federico II” in 1983, and a PhD in biochemistry from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London in 1988. He is co-author of over 760 articles published in peer-reviewed journals (H index 131 according to Scopus). In 2014-2021 he has been listed for 8 consecutive years among the Highly Cited Researchers (top 1% in the world) in all scientific disciplines.

Sophie Layé, PhD
Contact: sophie.laye@inrae.fr
Sophie Layé, PhD, is a research director at the Institut National de la Recherche en Agronomie (INRA), France. She is the acting head of the NutriNeuro Institute (University of Bordeaux) and co-acting head of the International Associated Laboratory OptiNutriBrain. She is a renowned scientist in the field of psychoneuroimmunolog