Brain, Bacteria and Behaviour: Understanding the Gut-Brain Axis

In this hands-on course you will learn the latest evidence on the role of commensal gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis, and how to study interactions between gut microbiome and brain functioning, behaviour and psychiatric diseases.

Course leader

Dr. Alejandro Arias Vasquez
Principal Investigator
Psychiatry & Human Genetics

Dr. Mirjam Bloemendaal
Post doc

Dr. Jeanette Mostert
Science communication advisor
Department of Genetics

all from Radboud University Medical Center

Target group

• Master
• PhD
• Post-doc
• Professional

Early career scientists in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry (or related disciplines) who are interested in learning about the gut-brain-axis and the basics of conducting studies linking parameters from the gut microbiome to neural and behavioural measures.

Course aim

After this course you are able to:
• Understand the basic concepts of the gut microbiome biology.
• Explain the various routes through which the gut and the brain influence each other.
• Understand the pros and cons of using several bioinformatics pipelines for analysing and interpreting 16s RNA gut microbiome data.
• Design an experiment to investigate how the gut microbiome influences brain functioning / behaviour.

Fee info

EUR 700: The fee includes the registration fees, course materials, access to library and IT facilities, coffee/tea, lunch, and a number of social activities.
EUR 630: Discount fee

Scholarships

https://www.ru.nl/en/education/more-education-and-training/summer-courses/application/discounts-and-scholarships