When the gut tells the story of the body

In ancient languages, the word 'gut' has been used as a metaphor to indicate something central and essential. Phrases such as 'a gut feeling' or 'a gut instinct' are possibly remnants of that use. 

The intestines, both large and small, have been a vital part of human 'body-thought' – foreshadowing the modern concepts of the neural connection between the human psyche and the human gut, now termed as the 'gut-brain axis' in modern terminology of health science. 

And this new science of the 'gut-brain axis' is the primary area of operations of Genofax – a biotechnology company where, from the stool sample analysis, the more complex problems in the health of an individual are identified through the gut microbiome DNA.

The company uses artificial intelligence and big data analytics on the genome and gut microbiome to develop futuristic medical interventions.

Every human body is unique, and how the body is affected by a disease is unique too. Traditional pathology has limitations in understanding the unique characteristics of an individual body. Genofax intends to address this problem through the use of technology, and by doing so, offer personalised treatment courses for individuals. 

This is what drove Abed Chaudhury, an Australian-Bangladeshi geneticist, scientist and author to conceptualise Genofax.

"Problems with obesity, diabetics, cardiac health, metabolic syndrome etc can easily be traced from gut dysbiosis. And from that, we are able to give predictive and personalised medicine to the patients. This is a form of DNA-based, AI/ML-driven reporting of the health status," Abed, co-founder and chief scientist of Genofax, told The Business Standard.

For more than three decades, Abed, an MIT graduate, has been working closely with climate mitigation, food security, crop breeding and human health. 

Besides serving the government of the United States and Australia respectively, Abed worked at MIT, CSIRO, Syngenta, Vitagrain and SoilCCompany. In CSIRO, he pioneered the work on fertilisation independent seed (FIS) and established the foundation of work on polycomb group genes in seed development. 

Later, more than 15 years ago, he founded an organisation named 'Hafiza Khatun Memorial Trust' to run crop breeding operations in Bangladesh. This resulted in many innovations such as Extended Life Rice and Blood Glucose Reducing Rice. He continued the heterosis-based breeding methodology in Bangladesh in rice and other crops and developed hundreds of new varieties, many of which he donated to the Bangladesh government via BADC and BRRI. 

The man behind Genofax: From Moulvibazar, MIT to Genofax

Abed was born in a remote village of Moulvibazar in the Sylhet district. After completing his matriculation exam, he came to Dhaka for further studies.

Abed did his bachelor's in Chemistry from Dhaka University and then left for the United States for a PhD in Molecular Biology. This was when his educational interest changed, and he started religiously working with genetics and genome biology.

Soon, Abed started working for the US government in the health sector. During his time there, Abed also built a network of contacts. He received a substantial grant from private sponsors/fund and enrolled in a post-doctoral programme at MIT in 1986.

"Studying at MIT was the heyday of my life. I got so much international attention and was showered with far-reaching opportunities," said Abed.

Illustration: TBS

In 1989, Abed moved to Australia after he had accepted an offer in the climate sector from the Australian government, and since then, he has been living there. In Abed's words, this job has blessed him with the opportunity to stay connected to his roots.

"I had to travel to Europe a lot during the time I worked for the Australian government, while travelling there, I used to make my route plan so I could stay a few days in Bangladesh," he explained. 

Genofax is Abed's latest venture in the health sector, where Zahangir Alam, another Australian-Bangladeshi and owner of Tele-Aus, is the Founder and CEO.

The founders believe that the new era of medicine requires the integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare, more than ever before. There are databases already available but are understudied. Also, the pre-existing medical and healthcare sector tends to focus on disease symptom management, rather than prevention and cure. 

Genofax is trying to shift this paradigm and develop personalised interventions that can prolong life through the prevention, delay and cure of diseases.

Geonofax has also developed an algorithm to identify dog breeds. Several other ongoing research to develop novel products will soon be completed.

As of now, the company has already onboarded a handful of physicians in Australia. There are two ways to get service from Genofax, firstly, by being recommended by designated physicians, and secondly, people can contact Genofax directly.

Abed: Beyond the medical science 

Abed describes himself as a hyper-patriot. 

Since 2000, Abed has been converting his ancestor's land for research and development in agriculture and climate change. He had even torn down his ancestral thatched hut in Sylhet and built a state-of-the-art laboratory. He is a firm believer in user-led innovation, as opposed to researcher-led innovation.

"Farmers are researchers themselves. That is why agriculture has sustained and flourished over time. Farmers experiment with cultivation and agricultural techniques more than anyone else. They have modified agriculture so much without even knowing it. This is why I am always inclined to work with real-time farmers," he said.

In 2008, Abed left his job for the Australian government and came to Bangladesh. Here, he started working with VitaGrain, an agriculture tech international company. Through this platform, he conducted extensive research on rice variants and rice production in Bangladesh. He invented a  strain of rice that can be harvested more than once, five times to be exact.

Abed named this variant 'Panchavrihi' (PV). The researcher has even introduced this rice variety to Mauritius, Africa and Tanzania.

"It was one of a kind experience. I took farmers and rice mill owners from Bangladesh there for the experiments. Now they cultivate rice there in full swing," he said.

In 2018, Abed left VitaGrain to concentrate on his own ventures. Currently, he is working for Loam Bio, a biotechnology research organisation in Australia. Abed, as the head of Research Innovation at Loam Bio, spearheaded the scientific programme on climate mitigation worldwide. 

"While the atmosphere contains too much carbon—contributing heavily to the greenhouse effect—the soil has too little carbon. Loam Bio thrives to manipulate and trap a large fraction of atmospheric carbon dioxide and transfer it to the soil through microbial fungi," said Abed, adding, "this process reduces atmospheric carbon while improving soil health, as carbon influences the infiltration and storage of water, drives nutrient cycles, and eases dependence on fertilisers." 

Abed is also the founder of an Australian non-profit organisation named 'Krishan'. Through Krishan, Abed aims to contribute to food security and farmer-led innovation in Africa and Asia. The researcher thrives to apply out-of-the-box thinking to address any challenges in sustainable agriculture and through the blog Krishan, he wants to spread the data and information beyond the borders.

The founders of Genofax are interested in launching their services in Bangladesh in the near future. 

"Gut microbiome DNA is the future face of pathology. Genofax is going to be the next big thing in South Asia, as soon as we launch it in Bangladesh," concluded Abed.