Dear Colleagues, Distinguished Guests, and Esteemed Participants,

On behalf of SIMPE (Italian Society of Pediatricians) and the Scientific Presidency, it is a true privilege and great pleasure to extend my warmest welcome to Rome for the UpMed Congress 2027: “THE GUT STORM: Decoding the Gut-Brain Axis Across the Lifespan – From Early-Life Priming and Pediatric Frontiers to Adult Clinical Horizons.”

This international summit responds to the need to move beyond disciplinary boundaries and adopt a rigorous life-course approach. Throughout the program, we will explore the complex pathophysiology of the gut-brain axis, focusing on the interplay between genetic susceptibility, environmental factors, and impaired biological barriers—including the intestinal epithelial and blood-brain barriers—and their systemic and neurological consequences across the lifespan.

The first 1,000 days are a critical developmental window in which early microbial colonization and mucosal barrier integrity influence neural wiring, immune maturation, and stress responsiveness. This trajectory extends through the vulnerability and plasticity of adolescence into adulthood, offering new insights into conditions ranging from neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and pediatric disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs), to adult irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), mood disorders, and early enteric manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases.

Our scientific journey is structured around five core areas:

• The First 1,000 Days & Early Priming: Perinatal mechanisms, neural network development, gut permeability, and early neuroinflammation.

• Pediatric Disruptions: Neurodevelopment & DGBIs: Metabolomic signatures and clinical insights in ASD and ADHD, alongside the management of pediatric disorders of gut-brain interaction.

• The Adolescent Bridge & Neuro-Immunity: HPA axis dynamics, mucosal immunity, and susceptibility to eating and mood disorders.

• The Adult Spectrum: From Chronic Distress to Neurodegeneration: Visceral pain processing and dysmotility in IBS, and enteric pathways involved in cognitive decline and Parkinson’s disease.

• Lifespan Therapeutics: Current evidence, clinical safety, and protocols for psychobiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), precision immunonutrition, and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS).

Across these two and a half days, our plenary hall will be an open forum for state-of-the-art keynote lectures and, importantly, cutting-edge research from around the world. The program will feature more than 45 oral presentations, rapid-fire flash talks, and guided poster walks, with a special focus on our young investigators.

We are confident that bringing together primary care pediatricians, gastroenterologists, child and adult neurologists, psychiatrists, clinical nutritionists, and basic researchers will help define actionable frontiers in diagnosis and targeted care.

I wish you an inspiring, productive, and collaborative congress.

Welcome once again to Rome!