Dr. Bachar Cheaib

Education and Training

In Late February 2023, Dr. Bachar Cheaib started as principal investigator at the Dept. of Infectious Diseases of Heidelberg University Hospital to work on the dynamics of lung diseases’ microbiomes. After graduating in Biology from Beirut Lebanese University, he earned two Bioinformatics masters from Université de Rennes and Université Blaise Pascal, France. He later conducted his PhD at Université Laval, Canada. In 2018, he moved to the University of Glasgow, Scotland, as a research associate to pursue two postdocs training on microbiome dynamics niche modelling at the James Watt Engineering School and on molecular epidemiology of animal and human parasitology at the School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine (SBOHVM).

Expertise

Bachar Cheaib is a specialist in microbiome analyses and NGS metagenomics. As part of Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL), his group aims to investigate the dynamics and evolution of microbiomes associated with lung diseases areas like Cystic Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis and COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

The group aims to answer fundamental and applied research questions on the functional interactions within the lung microbiota between commensals and pathogens.

Microbiome dynamics and pathogens surveillance associated with lung diseases:

1. Identify spatiotemporal patterns relevant for understanding the dynamics of interactions between pathogens (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and commensals in various context of lung diseases.
2. Investigate host – pathogens and host - commensals functional interactions by combining spatial Omics technologies with single cells to discover relevant early infection biomarkers candidates in diseased Lung tissue.
3. Modelling the microbiota progression from upper to lower respiratory airways in the context of treatment (antibiotics, diagnostic, probiotics, immunomodulation) of various lung disease areas, mainly Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in vulnerable immunocompromised patients with CF disease (Children diagnosed with CF), and COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients.

• Cystic Fibrosis (Mucoviscidosis)
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

1. Schaal, P., Cheaib, B., Kaufmann, J. et al. Links between host genetics, metabolism, gut microbiome and amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon. Anim Microbiome 4, 53 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-022-00203-x
2. Cheaib, B., et al. Genome erosion and evidence for an intracellular niche – exploring the biology of mycoplasmas in Atlantic salmon.Aquaculture, 736772 (2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736772
3. Kazlauskaite, R., Cheaib, B., Heys, C. et al. SalmoSim: the development of a three-compartment in vitro simulator of the Atlantic salmon GI tract and associated microbial communities. Microbiome 9, 179 (2021). doi.org/10.1186/s40168-021-01134-6
4. Cheaib, B., Seghouani, H., Llewellyn, M. et al. The yellow perch (Perca flavescens) microbiome revealed resistance to colonisation mostly associated with neutralism driven by rare taxa under cadmium disturbance. Anim Microbiome3, 3 (2021). DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-00063-3.
5. Cheaib B., Seghouani, H., Ijaz, U.Z. et al. Community recovery dynamics in yellow perch microbiome after gradual and constant metallic perturbations. Microbiome8, 14 (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-0789-0
6. Cheaib B., Heys C, Busetti A., Kazlauskaite R., Maier L., Sloan W, Ijaz. U.Z, Kaufmann J., McGinnity P., and Llewellyn L. Neutral processes dominate microbial community assembly in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. AppliedandEnvironmental Microbiology Feb 2020, AEM.02283-19; (2020) DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02283-19. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02283-19
7. Cheaib B., Leblouc, P-L. Mercier, F.Brochu and N. Derome. Taxon-Function Decoupling as an Adaptive Signature of Lake Microbial Metacommunities Under a Chronic Polymetallic Pollution Gradient.Frontiers in Microbiology; (2018); 9: 869. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00869