Lab background:
Our lab aims to understand the gut-brain axis, how the gut microbiome, nervous system and immune system interact and how that can lead to mental health disorders. We use the zebrafish as an animal model, it has multiple advantages in terms of genetic tools, community, resources, etc… But the main advantage is that it is a fully transparent animal model at the larval stage. We can easily image the whole brain and body of the animal and image in vivo processes. We have a special interest in autism and the associated gut issues, and we have different zebrafish models we use in those studies. Our overall goal is to find ways to manipulate the microbiome, or gut environment, to restore the normal gut-brain axis.
Available projects:
- Enteric Nervous system and microbiome
This project involves functional imaging of the enteric nervous system and how it is impacted by changes in the microbiome. You will image the developing enteric nervous system and learn how to prepare and maintain germ-free animals, as well as reinfect them.
- Gut inflammation and effect on the behaviour
This project involves following the immune response through molecular biology methods, and imaging. We use both bacteria and chemicals to elicit an inflammation and monitor the gut health with several imaging techniques.
- Apolipoprotein L function in the brain
The apolipoprotein L family has been linked to innate immunity, but they also seem involved in vesicle secretion and the SNARE complex, however their function in neurons is completely unknown. This project involves the study of those genes function in zebrafish.
Methods:
Our lab uses molecular biology, computation neuroscience, image, and data analysis to understand the enteric nervous system and immune system of the gut. We take advantage of the transparent zebrafish and our light-sheet microscope to image in vivo the processes we study.
The successful applicant is:
As the projects are mix of molecular biology, neuroscience, computational biology, and immunology, I can accept students from a variety of background. Experience with interdisciplinary research is a plus, but willingness to learn new methods is enough.
Please contact Team Leader Gilles Claude Vanwalleghem directly, if interested.
