A platform of integrated model systems for the study of gut-brain communication

Increasing (pre)clinical evidence suggests bidirectional interactions between the gut and the central nervous system. This paradigm opens new avenues for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In this research project, I aim to achieve innovation in this field in close association with
the combined expertise of the ‘inflammatory gut brain axis’ consortium by 1) identification of integrated biological networks at the microbiome-gut-cerebrospinal fluid-brain interface that are changing in response to gut inflammation, 2) determining whether these networks are causally
involved in fatigue in mice suffering from chronic colitis, 3) evaluating whether these networks
contribute to the aggregation of alpha-synuclein proteins and their spreading from the gut to the brain
in a model of Parkinson’s disease, and 4) developing an innovative model that will allow the study of
gut-brain communication using cutting-edge organ-on-a-chip technology.