Help mapping the female microbiome
What is Isala?
Isala (named after the first female Belgian doctor Isala Van Diest) is the brand new citizenship project of the University of Antwerp. Until now, little is known about vaginal health, and the vaginal microbiome has never been studied. The Isala project wants to change that. Using state of the art DNA technology, vaginal samples will be analyzed in order to better understand the female microbiome. The Isala project focuses on citizen research and thus appealed to 200 women who wanted to take a number of 'swabs' from their vagina, skin and saliva in their own bathroom. No fewer than 5,000 participants responded to this call.
The female microbiome
Microbiome is a collective name for all micro-organisms in and on the body. A better knowledge of these micro-organisms is important to research healthy alternatives to antibiotics, such as probiotics. There are also millions of bacteria in the vagina that can play a crucial role in women's health. For example, these bacteria can protect against infections, bladder infections, STIs, ... and it is suspected that they also play a major role in fertility and healthy pregnancies. In the long term, the Isala project aims to make connections between lifestyle and health of the microbiome in order to give women more concrete tips for improving their health.
Want to know more? Be sure to take a look at the website.