1. Dr. Harriët Schellekens

Senior Lecturer in the department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University College Cork, and funded investigator with APC Microbiome Ireland

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NourishMinds: Unraveling the Impact of Early-Life High-Sugar Diets on Neuro-Cognitive Development and Gut-Brain Pathways in Children

A poor early-life diet profoundly impacts on the metabolic programming and infant brain development, heightening the risk of obesity later in life, and associated cognitive impairment, including attention, executive function, and decision making.

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Study Aim

To deliver novel mechanistic insights on the effects of early-life high-fat-high-sugar consumption on hedonic and motivated eating behaviour, as well as its impact on food-related memory processing, and to identify microbiome-targeted approaches to attenuate the detrimental effects.

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Scientific Approach

Preclinical animal study in mice investigating overall impact of early-life high-fat-high-sugar on the microbiota-mediated eating behaviour trajectory.

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Expected Outcome

The NourishMind research proposal will identify mechanisms underlying diet-mediated metabolic imprinting and neuronal development of eating behaviour. Furthermore, NourishMind will identify novel microbiota targeted approaches to prime for healthy eating behaviour from early life to adulthood.

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2. Prof. Jeffrey Craig

Professor in Epigenetics and Cell Biology, at The Institute for Mental and Physical Health Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University.

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Exploring Gut-Brain Connections: Investigating Modifiable Microbial Determinants of Neurodevelopment in Mid-Childhood: A Twin Study Approach

Human neurodevelopment occurs from early pregnancy through to early adulthood. We know that our gut microbiome plays a role in brain development up to at least age three. However, it is not known whether the microbiome has a lasting impact on brain development beyond infancy.

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Study Aim

To map the longitudinal associations between gut microbiome composition and function at age 6 with neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 11, and to identify dietary predictors of neurodevelopmentally relevant microbial characteristics.

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Scientific Approach

This research proposal will leverage a cohort of twin pairs followed from mid-gestation to 11 years of age – the Peri/postnatal Epigenetic Twin Study (PETS).

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Expected Outcome

This research proposal will generate new insights into how to support optimal brain development through nutrition beyond the early years and into the under-investigated mid- childhood period.

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3. Prof. Francesca Lembo

Associate Professor in Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II.

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Early-life susceptibility of brain epigenetic profiles to antibiotic treatment. Relevance for neurodevelopmental diseases.

Antibiotics (ABs) represent the most common type of medication used during infancy. ABs have been proposed as a possible factor playing a role in the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) promoting long lasting adverse effects on brain development. It has been claimed that AB use during early life may have a detrimental effect on the gut-brain axis by interfering with regular gut microbiota (GM) colonization.

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Study Aim

A pilot study to gain a proof of concept of the susceptibility of brain epigenetic profiles to GM perturbation, and to investigate the effects of microbiota-based interventions on brain epigenomic profiles.

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Scientific Approach

Preclinical study using mouse model of early-life antibiotic-induced experimental dysbiosis.

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Expected Outcome

This study will introduce new insights in the paradigm of microbiota-gut-brain-axis, especially the role of brain epigenetics, and may trace the path for the discovery and selection of microbiota-based interventions.

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