ProgenaBiome

ProgenaBiome is a genetic sequencing laboratory based in Ventura, California, whose stated interest is to understand the clinical implications of the human microbiome. The company describes itself as a research genetic sequencing laboratory and positions its work around the idea that dysbiosis — an imbalance in the gut microbial community — may be the culprit behind a range of diseases. Rather than limiting itself to fecal transplant, which it markets under the term "refloralization," ProgenaBiome says it examines multiple fields of medicine in which microbial imbalance could play a role. The company was founded by Dr. Sabine Hazan, a gastroenterologist. According to the company's own account, Hazan was born in Morocco, entered medical school on the strength of undergraduate research on obesity, completed a residency at the University of Miami during the height of the HIV epidemic, and became the first woman gastroenterology fellow at the University of Florida. She later practiced in upstate New York before turning her attention to the microbiome, a direction she credits to an encounter with Dr. Neil Stollman, who told her that the future of medicine lies in the microbiome. ProgenaBiome's public-facing activity centers on several programs. It offers a "Flora Test" that physicians can use with their patients, and it runs a "Biome Squad" community for doctors and scientists who want to collaborate. The company also recruits stool donors for research, stating that it seeks donors who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19 and have never tested positive for the virus. It solicits interest from patients with Parkinson's disease and from people interested in its ongoing clinical trials. In its own words, ProgenaBiome "spearheads the movement of validating, verifying, and clinically applying its sequencing data, to better understand the microbiome," working in collaboration with physicians across multiple specialties. Its stated mission is to take the microbiome to the clinical level so that disease can be better treated and prevented. The company emphasizes that every person has a unique microbiome, and it markets the concept of "refloralizing" the gut to bring it back to its original state. ProgenaBiome is a private company. Public records describe it simply as a company in Ventura, United States. Its website serves as the primary channel for physician sign-ups, donor recruitment, clinical trial inquiries, and collaboration requests.

ProgenaBiome's history is closely tied to the career of its founder, Dr. Sabine Hazan. According to the company's "Our Story" page, Hazan was born in Morocco and was drawn to a career in medicine, gaining admission to medical school on the basis of outstanding undergraduate research on obesity. She completed her residency at the University of Miami during the peak of the HIV epidemic, treating severely ill patients at Jackson Memorial Hospital and in the local jail, where she was awarded two prizes for her research. After her residency, Hazan became the first woman gastroenterology fellow at the University of Florida. During that fellowship she completed a year of research and presented her findings in poster format at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) National Meeting. It was there, according to the company's account, that she was approached by Dr. Neil Stollman, who told her that the future of medicine lies in the microbiome. She was awarded the Dean's Research Award for her work on visceral hyperalgesia. Dr. Stollman is described by the company as an expert and leader on fecal transplant and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) who serves on the governing board of the ACG. Following her fellowship, Hazan returned to Montreal and opened a practice in upstate New York. Her work there, as described by the company, consisted of about 10 percent research and 90 percent private gastroenterology patients, and attracted many patients from across the border in Canada. She was, by the company's account, the only female gastroenterologist in an 80-mile radius, and the influx of Canadian patients highlighted for her the problems with socialized medicine in Canada, including intolerable wait times for a gastroenterologist visit. She later met with the Prime Minister of Health, according to the same account. Out of this clinical and research background, ProgenaBiome emerged as a genetic sequencing laboratory based in Ventura, California. The company frames its mission as understanding the clinical implications of the microbiome. It states that its broad array of specialties allows it to look beyond fecal transplant — which it brands as refloralization — to examine other fields of medicine in which dysbiosis could be the culprit of disease. In collaboration with leading physicians in multiple specialties, ProgenaBiome says it spearheads the movement of validating, verifying, and clinically applying its sequencing data to better understand the microbiome. The company's public programs include the Flora Test, which physicians use with their patients; the Biome Squad, a community for doctors and scientists who wish to collaborate; recruitment of stool donors for research; and outreach to patients with Parkinson's disease and to those interested in its ongoing clinical trials. ProgenaBiome also promotes the concept of refloralizing the gut to bring it back to its original state, and emphasizes that each person has a unique microbiome. Public records describe the company simply as a company in Ventura, United States.

• Dr. Sabine Hazan completes residency at the University of Miami during the HIV epidemic, earning two research prizes.

• Hazan becomes the first woman gastroenterology fellow at the University of Florida and receives the Dean's Research Award.

• Hazan opens a practice in upstate New York after returning to Montreal.

• ProgenaBiome operates as a genetic sequencing laboratory in Ventura, California, offering the Flora Test and refloralization.

A research genetic sequencing laboratory translating microbiome sequencing data into clinical applications, working with physicians across specialties.

• Flora Test

  A microbiome sequencing test used by physicians to assess their patients' gut flora.

• Refloralization (refloralization™)

  A branded approach to fecal transplant aimed at restoring the gut to its original state.

1. 1Microbiome - ProgenaBiomeprogenabiome.com
2. 2Our Storyprogenabiome.com
3. 3ProgenaBiome (United States) - Wikidatawikidata.org