Gut/Brain Communication in Health and Diseases

Virginie is from France where she got her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology then moved to Switzerland and to the USA in 2010. First at the Sanford-Burnham Institute where she focused on insulin sensitivity and obesity in peripheral metabolic tissues(liver, heart, muscle, adipose tissues). In 2013, she got an instructor position at UTSW, Dallas in the Division of Hypothalamic Research to develop projects aiming at understand better neural control of peripheral metabolism and pain. In september 2015, she started her independent lab at Loyola Chicago Stritch Medical School in the Cell and Molecular Physiology Dpt. She is the director of the Loyola Metabolic and Behavior Phenotyping User Groups (MetBug). ORCID number : https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9976-446X

Chaitanya Gavini is a postdoctoral researcher in Mansuy-Aubert lab. He graduated “first class with distinction” with a B-Tech in Biotechnology from JNTU, Hyderabad, India and his Ph.D in Cell and Molecular Biology from Kent State University, USA. His Ph.D research focused on central neural mechanisms regulating body weight. His emphasis was on how peripheral tissues particularly, skeletal muscle adapt to signals originating from both periphery and the hypothalamus in regulation of metabolism. Following his doctoral degree, he joined Mansuy-Aubert lab, working on neural regulation of metabolism. Current work includes understanding, 1) the role of neuronal lipid sensors in modulation of energy balance and Obesity-related peripheral neuropathy, and, 2) the role of neuronal trafficking proteins in regulation of cellular metabolism.

After a master’s degree in computational science achieved in France, I joined the University of Geneva where I obtained my PhD (2004-2008) under the supervision of the Pr. Lüscher working on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying addictive properties of drugs of abuse. In 2009, I started a post-doctoral position with the Pr. Borgland in Canada (UBC) where I investigated appetitive motivation disorders such as obesity and addiction. For 11 years (2011-2022), I worked as a research associate in the Pr. Thorens laboratory at the University of Lausanne where I studied the interaction between neuronal circuits involved in glucose-sensing and motivated feeding behaviors. I am now delighted to join the Pr. Mansuy-Aubert’s group and contribute with my expertise in Neuroscience, Metabolism, and Electrophysiology to the challenging scientific projects carried out in the lab.

Emily grew up in the Chicagoland suburbs and attended Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois where she gained experience as an undergraduate researcher. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2018, and in 2019 she joined the Integrated Program in Biomedical Sciences at Loyola University Chicago for her PhD. In the Mansuy-Aubert lab, Emily is studying the short chain fatty acid receptor free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) and its role in obesity. She is particularly interested in the function of FFAR2 in immune cells and how its activation or deletion in these cells might affect the inflammatory and metabolic phenotypes associated with obesity. She is eager to see where her research takes her during her PhD, and she is excited at the prospect of continuing to make scientific discoveries long after receiving her degree.

Nadia grew up in South Elgin,IL. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where, in December 2018, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology with a minor in Global Health. After graduation, Nadia matriculated into the Loyola University Chicago Integrative Cell Biology Graduate Program, and obtained her Master's in the summer of 2021. Nadia is now continuing her studies at Loyola in pursuit of her Ph.D., investigating how neuronal lipid metabolism affects neuropathic pain. She joined Virginie's lab in Lausanne to work on prebiotics and gut/brain communication as a student of the neuroscience graduate school (Oct 2023)