Fanshawe awarded grant for probiotic research

Fanshawe has been awarded a $225,000 research grant over three years from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

The grant will go towards researching two oral probiotic-based products called Lorodent and Kariodent. It will support students in two Fanshawe programs: Applied Biotechnology and the Chemical Lab Technician programs.

The grant will provide five co-op opportunities per year over the next three years for students in these two programs.

Dr. Peter Cadieux, the principal investigator of the project, said these 15 co-op students will have an amazing opportunity to do more than just research.

“Being part of Integra Medical, a small probiotics company… the students are getting a lot of exposure to a lot of the company’s day-to-day life that they wouldn’t get at a larger company,” Cadieux said. “These students are really a part of the whole process.” Cadieux said the co-op students will attend regular company meetings where they will learn about product development, product testing, analyzing data and statistics and even marketing. The co-op students will have a unique opportunity because they will be able to see the company from more than just one side.

“We think the students will be really well prepared once they’re done that co-op,” Cadieux said.

The research will take place at an Integra Medical facility and is a partnership between Integra, the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research and Fanshawe College.

The collaboration will be researching two Integra products: Lorodent and Kariodent. Cadieux said these probiotics, also known as live micro-organisms that provide a health benefit to the host, can improve the health of humans in a variety of ways.

“We assume that bacteria always means something bad, and every time you have bacteria you have to get rid of it, you need to take anti- biotics. That’s untrue,” Cadieux said. “There are a ton of beneficial bacteria in the body that are helping us to digest things, they’re helping to keep pathogens away that cause disease.”

Cadieux said that the human body has “made deals” with probiotics throughout our evolution in order to create mutually beneficial arrangements.

Lorodent and Kariodent are probiotic products to promote oral health. Lorodent helps to build ear, nose and throat health and Kariodent helps prevent cavities and repair teeth.

This research is just a small portion of the scientific breakthroughs that Fanshawe is a part of.