Patrice Cani

At a glance

• Patrice Cani is a Belgian researcher and full professor at UCLouvain, and an honorary research director of the FNRS. He specialises in physiology, metabolism and nutrition.
• In 2007 he showed in mice that a high-fat diet lets bacterial substances (LPS) leak from the gut into the blood, promoting inflammation and insulin resistance: ‘metabolic endotoxaemia’.
• He is known worldwide for research on Akkermansia muciniphila, a gut bacterium linked in mice to better metabolism and a stronger gut barrier.
• In a first small human study (Nature Medicine, 2019), pasteurised Akkermansia proved safe, with favourable signals for insulin sensitivity.
• He co-founded a spin-off that developed Akkermansia as a food supplement, and is a respected media voice on the gut microbiome.
• For longevity, his work links the gut, the immune system and metabolism.
• Takeaway: feed your gut bacteria with fibre and polyphenols from vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains.