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CLEVELAND, Jan. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum, the scientist who named the "Mycobiome" after discovering how bacteria and fungus work together to affect digestive health, will be taking an operative role with leading health initiatives and medical journals as his research continues to underscore the critical role fungus plays in overall health and wellness.

Within the past two months Dr. Ghannoum has been invited to serve on the editorial board of the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Journal of Gastroenterology. He has also been invited to present at the Functional Foods Center's 21st International Conference and Expo (March 2017) as well as the NIH's workshop on "the Human Microbiome: Emerging Themes at the Horizon of the 21st Century," (August 2017).

"In some respects, the role of the fungus in the human biota has been the ignored gorilla in the room," stated Dr. Ghannoum. "The goal with my research is to force the scientific community to look more seriously at fungus as a critical instrument in health and wellness."

Important research highlights from Dr. Ghannoum's recent presentation to the NIH on the role of fungus in digestive system include the following:

• Historically, fungi were considered passive colonizers of the microbial community. Recent profiling of the Mycobiome is providing a new perspective showing that:
  • Fungi have a complex multifaceted role in humans and are active participants in directly influencing health and wellness
  • Fungi cooperate with bacteria 
  • It is not bacteria or fungi alone. They work together.
  • The gut is colonized with 10 fungal species dominated by C. tropicalis (65%)
  • Fungi and NOT bacteria is responsible for aggravating digestive health issues

Soon, Dr. Ghannoum's research will not be limited to the medical community. He has been working on the next generation of probiotics called BIOHM. BIOHM, is a tri-action probiotic that combines good bacteria, good fungus and powerful enzymes to neutralize the newly discovered gut biofilm that disrupts the balance of the gut's microbiome. BIOHM will launch online early in 2017.

Dr. Ghannoum, Ph.D., MBA, FIDSA, joined Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in 1996 from his prior position at the UCLA School of Medicine. As the acclaimed scientist who named the Mycobiome, Dr. Ghannoum has spent his entire academic career studying medically important fungi.  He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and has been cited over 16,000 times by other scientists, with coverage in CBS News, Forbes, Scientific American, USA Today, ABC News. Dr. Ghannoum lectures to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and has been a NIH-funded researcher since 1993 with over $25 million in funding to date.

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SOURCE Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum