Research

Our lab aims to uncover the sensory origins and circuit mechanisms of gut-brain signaling.

Sensations in our internal organs like the gut have long been associated with human instinct and emotions across cultures and languages (e.g., “gut feeling” and “butterflies in the stomach” in English). Communication between the gut and the brain enables our primal drives for food, governs sensations such as fullness and nausea, and may be associated with emotions such as nervousness. Moreover, gastrointestinal disorders and limited food preferences are prevalent in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, and targeting the gut-brain axis has shown clinical promise for treating obesity, diabetes, and nausea.

Using neurogenetic approaches, we are excited to examine questions like: what is it that we are sensing inside our gastrointestinal tracts? How is gut sensory information processed and conveyed to the brain? How does gut sensory processing go awry in neurodevelopmental disorders like autism? We hope that the mechanistic insights uncovered through our research can ultimately inform the development of therapeutic approaches targeting the gut-brain axis.

Our research is supported by the University of Washington, the Simons Foundation, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. Thank you for supporting our research!