Brain-Body Center Researchers

Polina Anikeeva is developing new tools to examine the gut-brain connection and how gastrointestinal dysfunction can arise in ASDs, Parkinson’s disease, depression, and anxiety.

Aristide Gumyusenge, Merton C. Flemings Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, is designing soft biocompatible polymers and electrochemical transistors for real-time sensing and feedback-control of biological signals.

Alan Jasanoff is addressing higher-level aspects of interoception by applying a novel battery of
imaging approaches to map neurochemical signaling dynamics in the gut.

Fan Wang is developing novel tools and imaging methods to study autonomic responses and sympathetic-parasympathetic system balance, including how pain influences these interactions. She is also advancing techniques for documenting changes in brain and peripheral tissues induced by acupuncture.

Feng Zhang is pioneering molecular techniques to restore the equilibrium within cells affected by injury, degeneration, and other disease processes.

Yubin Cai

Graduate Fellow, Traverso Lab

Yubin Cai’s research leverages expertise to explore the intricate mechanisms of gut-brain communication and evaluate the effects of gastric electrical stimulation (GES) on brain health and behavior.

Danlei Chen

Postdoctoral Fellow, Lewis Lab

Danlei Chen’s research investigates how sleep-dependent neural and bodily rhythms regulate cerebrospinal fluid flow and how this process contributes to waste clearance in the human brain, aiming to uncover individual and age-related differences that shape resilience and support long-term brain health.

Kyla Nichols

Postdoctoral Fellow, Ribbeck Lab

Kyla Nichols aims to uncover how mucus facilitates estrogen metabolism and availability by the gut microbiome and how this could influence sex-based differences seen in mental health disorders via the gut-brain axis.

Emily Robinson

Graduate Fellow, Prescott Lab

Emily Robinson studies mechanisms for how the lungs and brain communicate in asthma with the goal of developing new therapies.