Jameson, Kelly
Kelly is in the Neuroscience Interdepartmental Graduate Program, and joined the CMB training program in 2018. She received a B.S. degree in Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mentor: Dr. Elaine Hsiao
The gut microbiota is an important regulator of brain function and behavior, with the capacity to affect neurogenesis, blood brain barrier integrity, microglial activation, and symptoms of neurological disease. Despite the evidence supporting a microbiome-gut-brain axis, the molecular and cellular pathways underlying communication between gut microbes and the brain remain unclear. It is hypothesized that the gut microbiota signals directly to the brain via the vagus nerve, which contains afferent and efferent fibers that connect the brain to various organ systems. I hope, using combinatorial techniques both in vivo and in vitro, to better understand how gut microbes and their metabolites modulate primary afferent sensory neuron activity and thus, brain-related behaviors.
