Microbiome Research in Advancing Children’s Health

Dear Colleagues,

The field of microbiome science continues to expand rapidly, and advances in this topic have moved to more closely incorporate areas of clinical application. In pediatrics specifically, studies are uncovering a role of the microbiome on the health, growth, and development of children. In addition, various pediatric microbiome comparts (gut, nasopharyngeal, oral, respiratory, and skin) appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of a wide range of human diseases.

This Special Issue will aim to highlight basic, translational, and clinical research investigating the composition and relevance of the human microbiome in pediatric health and disease states.

We welcome submission topics that include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The development of the neonatal and pediatric microbiome, and current understandings of the definitions of microbiome health and dysbiosis;
• The microbiome's association with the development and persistence of pediatric infectious diseases and chronic diseases;
• The impact of the pediatric or maternal microbiome on child growth, development, and immunity;
• The impact of pediatric chronic disease on microbiome composition and function;
• The role of exposure on pediatric microbial community structure and function, including antibiotic exposure, diet and feeding methods, delivery modes, and environmental exposure, and subsequent health states;
• The interactions of microbes and their contributions to health, disease, or disease outcomes;
• Investigations of the link between gastrointestinal microbiomes and inflammatory diseases of various mucosal surfaces, including airways;
• Studies of and strategies for manipulation of the microbiome to support health or treat disease;
• The role of microbiome sequencing techniques applied to the diagnosis of pediatric disease or prediction of disease outcomes;
• Analytic techniques in microbiome analysis as applied to pediatric medicine.

We welcome microbiome analyses involving diverse body compartments, including the gut, skin, oropharynx, respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin, etc., and as applied to a wide variety of disease states.

We are soliciting original research manuscripts, brief reports, reviews, mini-reviews, and opinion pieces on the areas of pediatric microbiome research. Additional formats may be considered as well on a case-by-case basis based on their alignment with this Special Issue’s aims.

Sincerely,

Dr. Amy Pan
Dr. Rebecca Steuart
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• microbiome
• microbiota
• dysbiosis
• microbiota manipulation
• pediatrics and children
• respiratory
• gastrointestinal
• cutaneous