Probiota Americas 2025, hosted by NutraIngredients-USA at the Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, June 9-11, will feature world-leading experts to present the latest scientific, technical, regulatory, business and market insights.
The three-day conference takes a magnifying glass to the microbiome space, what areas are growing and in which direction.
Wake up and move!
NutraIngredients takes the health and wellness of our delegates seriously, which is why we’ll kick off the second day of Probiota Americas with a 5K run or walk, hosted by Novonesis.
The first session of the day focuses on weight management, a category that has been turned on its head with the regulatory approval of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs. The nutrition industry has pivoted to supporting the side effects of GLP-1 medication or searching for ‘natural alternatives’ that may also stimulate GLP-1 secretion. The link between the gut microbiota, metabolism and obesity also offers an intriguing opportunity for brands. The session opens with a presentation from Dr. Hariom Yadav, director of the Center for Microbiome Research at the University of South Florida, titled, “Gut feeling: Two intriguing ways the microbiome controls your weight and metabolic health”.
Dr. Yadav will present two key pathways through which the gut microbiome influences metabolic health and weight. While known for producing beneficial or harmful metabolites, new insights reveal its critical role in eliminating toxic compounds—acting as a metabolic detoxifier. This presentation will offer a fresh perspective on how gut microbes regulate health beyond digestion.
We’ll follow this with a presentation from Saki Yamashita from Morinaga Milk Industry, on the role of probiotics in weight management.
Dr. Yadav will return to the stage for a panel discussion that also features Dr. Aouatef Bellamine from ADM and Ewa Hudson from Lumina Intelligence.
After an extended networking break, we’ll then explore the fascinating, if somewhat controversial topic of engineering microorganisms using technologies such as genetic engineering (presented by Dr. Zack Abbott from ZBiotics) and CRISPR (presented by Dr. Nancy Allard from the Université de Sherbrooke).
We’ll also meet the two winners of our 2025 Scientific Frontiers who will present their research.
This is followed by a networking session and the ever-popular roundtable lunch discussions (see below).
Identification and enumeration
The afternoon session kicks off with a session dedicated to identification and enumeration: Colony Forming Units (CFUs) have dominated probiotic enumeration over the years, both on labels and in the scientific literature, but many stakeholders are exploring techniques that are faster, more accurate and more cost-effective to traditional plate counts. These included flow cytometry, different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques and mass spectrometry. This session will explore the recent advances and the implications for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), translational science and more.
Speakers include Dr. Kit Goldman from the United States Pharmacopeia, Dr. Sinéad Bleiel from AnaBio Technologies, Marie-Eve Boyte from NPCS International and Andrzej Benkowski from Eurofins.
The regulatory landscape
The day will wrap up with a blockbuster panel on the regulatory landscape in the United States and Canada: A lot has happened since the start of 2025, with changes in leadership in both countries. The imposition and removal of tariffs have created uncertainty for businesses and supply chains, and we’re seeing sweeping changes at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Food & Drug Administration.
IPA’s George Paraskevakos will moderate a session featuring Loren Israelsen from the United Natural Products Alliance, Michael Steller from Health Canada, Dr. Jon-Paul Powers from Gowling WLG and Ivan Wasserman from Amin Wasserman Gurnani which will explore the macro issues affecting the region and the micro issues specific to probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics.
Networking & roundtables
The day is not all about speakers and presentations. Attendees will have the chance to grow their networks via speed networking and our series of roundtable lunches hosted by an expert from industry or academia who will lead an informal discussion on an industry hot topic. Join the table that suits you best, subject to availability.
Probiota Americas
Other key themes include microbiome ecology and colonization, the state of the market, investor insights, personalization, Probiota Pioneers, maternal and infant health, prebiotics, probiotics for oral health and our closing Future Focus panel.
For more information and to register, please click HERE.
