The last February 24th, Andreu Prados Bo defended his doctoral thesis entitled, Scientific research on the microbiome in the press and internet: media impact and quality of information, directed by Dr. Gonzalo Casino Rubio from Pompeu Fabra University. The tribunal was chaired by Dr. Rafael Pedraza (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), accompanied by Dr. Anna Bach Haya (Open University of Catalonia) as secretary, and Dr. Félix Bosch Llonch (University of Vic) as vocal.

According to his research, the microbiome has aroused increasing scientific, media and economic interest, hence the thesis examines to what extent the information on the microbiome in the press and the internet is aligned with science. The study period covers a range from 2007 to 2019, focusing on the generalist and economic press at the following newspaperd: The New York Times, The Times, El País, WSJ, Financial Times and Expansión. The result was a total of 518 analyzed news items.

The specific objectives of the doctoral thesis were divided into four: a) quantify the impact of microbiome research in the generalist and economic press; b) identify the main characteristics of journalistic articles on the microbiome in the general press; c) examine the certainty of the evidence associated with health messages on the Internet of dietary interventions on the microbiome; d) assess the quality of information on dietary interventions that influence the microbiome.

The study concluded that the analyzed press publishes research with a lower degree of certainty, has a nationalist bias, and only half of the health messages on the Internet about dietary interventions of the microbiome are supported by scientific evidence.

The tribunal praised Andreu's presentation, and congratulated him for the publication of his research articles in Scopus and Web of Science. After answering excellently to the questions posed by the tribunal, it decided to award the title of Doctor to Andreu Prados Bo with excellent cum laude honors.