View full list on Google Scholar

• The microbiome and ketogenic diet
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  The high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet is used to treat refractory epilepsy but is difficult to implement, maintain and tolerate. Molecular mechanisms underlying its efficacy are unclear. We found that specific bacteria from the gut microbiota play an essential role in the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet.

  Olson CA, Vuong HE, Liang QY, Nusbaum DJ, Hsiao EY (2018) The gut microbiota mediates the anti-seizure effects of the ketogenic diet Cell, 24 May 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.04.027.

• The microbiome and neurotransmitters
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  Exactly how gut microbes communicate with the nervous system is unclear. We found that particular types of bacteria signal metabolically to host cells to stimulate peripheral serotonin biosynthesis.

  Yano JM, Yu K, Donaldson G, Shastri G, Ma L, Ann P, Nagler C, Ismagilov RF, Mazmanian SK, Hsiao EY (2015) Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis. Cell, doi 10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.047.

  Highlighted in: Cell 161:193-4, Science Signaling 373:ec101, Gastroenterology & Hepatology doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2015.69, ACS Chemical Biology 10:1157-1159

• 

  Certain gut bacteria modulate neurotransmitters in the gut, but why they do so is unknown. We found that a gut bacterium that helps to promote serotonin also detects serotonin to enhance its ability to colonize the gut.

  Fung TC, Vuong HE, Luna CDG, Pronovost GN, Aleksandrova AA, Riley NG, Vavilina A, McGinn J, Rendon T, Forrest LR & Hsiao EY (2019) Intestinal serotonin and fluoxetine exposure modulate bacterial colonization in the gut Nature Microbiology

• The microbiome and behavior
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  Several studies report fundamental roles for the gut microbiota in modulating host behavior and neurobiology

  Vuong HE, Yano JM, Fung TC, Hsiao EY (2017) The microbiome and host behavior. Annual Reviews of Neuroscience. 40: 21-49.

• 

  Changes in the microbiome are increasingly linked to autism spectrum disorder and social communicative behavior in animals. Here’s a review on emerging connections between the gut microbiome and ASD:

  Vuong HE, Yu K, Hsiao EY (2016) Emerging roles for the gut microbiome in autism spectrum disorder. Biological Psychiatry. 81: 411-23.

• 

  The microbiota modulates many behaviors in animals. We found that altering the gut microbiota corrects some core behavioral symptoms in an autism mouse model.

  Hsiao EY, McBride SW, Hsien S, Sharon G, Hyde ER, McCue T, Codelli JA, Chow J, Reisman SE, Petrosino JF, Patterson PH*, Mazmanian SK* (2013) The microbiota modulates behavioral and physiological abnormalities associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Cell, 155:1451-1463. *equal contribution

  Highlighted in: Cell 155:1446-8, PNAS 111:2051-3, Nature Reviews Neurology 10:60, Nature Reviews Microbiology 12:76-7, Dr. Tom Insel, NIMH , Top 10 Autism Research Achievement of 2013 by Autism Speaks

• 

  Gastrointestinal problems are seen in subsets of autistic individuals, but it’s not clear if they actually contribute to core behavioral symptoms. Here’s a review of GI issues and potential roles of gut-brain interactions in ASD.

  Hsiao EY (2014) Gastrointestinal issues in autism spectrum disorder. Harv Rev Psychiatry 22:104-111.

• 

  Ever wonder what makes an “autistic” mouse? Here’s a chapter on how scientists model genetic and environmental risk factors for autism to learn more about possible molecular causes of the disorder.

  Hsiao EY, Bregere C, Malkova N, Patterson PH (2011) Modeling features of autism in rodents. In Amaral DG, Dawson G, Geschwind DH (Eds.), Autism Spectrum Disorders. Press, pp. 935-62. Autism Spectrum Disorders.

• The microbiome and neuroimmunity
• 

  No longer regarded an “immune privileged” site, the brain has its own unique resident immune cells and also communicates bidirectionally with the peripheral immune system. Here’s a review on how the gut microbiome modulates neuroimmune interactions in health and disease:

  Fung TC, Olson CA, Hsiao EY (2017) Interactions between the microbiota, immune and nervous systems in health and disease. Nature Neuroscience. 20:145-155

• 

  Adverse events during early life can predispose to later life diseases. We found that activation of the maternal immune system in pregnant mice leads to long term immune abnormalities in their offspring.

  Hsiao EY, McBride SW, Chow J, Mazmanian SK, Patterson PH (2012) Modeling an autism risk factor in mice leads to permanent immune dysregulation. PNAS 109:12776-81

• 

  Autism is associated with several immune abnormalities in and outside of the brain. Here’s a review on immune abnormalities in autism, immune-related risk factors for autism and effects of immune-based treatments for autism.

  Hsiao EY (2013) Immune dysregulation in autism spectrum disorder. In Konopka G, Harris A, Jenner P (Eds). Neurobiology of Autism, Int Rev Neurobiol 113:269-302.

• Maternal-fetal interactions during neurodevelopment
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  The placenta is an important interface between the maternal and fetal environment. In tracing the effects of maternal inflammation from mom to placenta to offspring, we identify specific placental cells that are critical for relaying inflammatory responses to the developing embryo and mediating changes in neurodevelopment and later-life behavior.

  Hsiao EY , Patterson PH (2011) Activation of the maternal immune system induces endocrine changes in the placenta via IL-6. Brain Behav Immun 25:604-15.

  Wu W, Hsiao EY, Yan Z, Mazmanian SK, Patterson PH (2016) Placental interleukin-6 signaling controls fetal brain development and behavior. Brain Behav Immun 25:604-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2016.11.007

  Highlighted in: Brain Behav Immun 25:602-3

• 

  More than just a passive organ, the placenta plays a key role in embryonic health and disease. Here’s a review on how responses in the placenta can influence neurodevelopment and how abnormal responses in the placenta can predispose to neurological diseases.

  Hsiao EY , Patterson PH (2012) Placental regulation of maternal-fetal interactions and brain development. Dev Neurobiol 72:1317-26.

News

• 
  2022-06-17 —Congrats to Greg on being awarded a Whitcome fellowship!
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  2022-06-09 —Dr. Geoffrey Pronovost successfully defends his Ph.D. thesis!
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  2022-06-03 —Congrats to Kelly on being awarded a Dissertation Year Fellowship!
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  2022-05-27 —Congrats to Kristie for being awarded a Whitcome fellowship!
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  2022-05-20 — Big congrats to Jon for accepting his new assistant professorship position at Johns Hopkins University!
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  2022-04-11 —Congrats to Ezgi on being selected to give an oral presentation at the American Society of Nutrition annual meeting and also as a finalist for the Nutrition Translation Award!
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  2022-04-06 — Elaine is named an Early Career Innovator in Science by Takeda and New York Academy of Sciences!
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  2022-04-06 —Congratulations to Ezgi for winning the Sue Bodine Postdoctoral Travel Award!
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  2022-01-22 —Congrats to Kristie on being awarded a Keystone Symposium Scholarship!
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  2022-01-22 — Check out Lewis and Guli's comprehensive review of the gut microbiome as a regulator of the neuroimmunity in Annual Review of Immunology!
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  2022-01-01 —Huge congrats to Helen for starting her new assistant professorship position at University of Minnesota Medical School! We miss you!
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  2021-12-20 — Ezgi's shares a highlight and perspective in Cell Reports Medicine on exciting work from the Gratten group
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  2021-11-26 — Big congrats to Guli and Kristie for closing out a special issue of Science with their review on gut-brain signaling in inflammation!
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  2021-11-10 —Way to go Lewis and Guli for leading UCLA’s Immunology in Neuroscience Affinity Group!
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  2021-11-08 —Congrats to Kelly for winning a Keystone conference travel award and being selected for oral presentation on her exciting work!
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  2021-09-10 —Congrats to Sabeen on being awarded a UCLA Hyde Fellowship!
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  2021-08-26 —Congrats to Anisha for winning an undergraduate research scholarship!
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  2021-08-12 —Congrats to Erika for being named an MSD scholar!
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  2021-08-05 — Excited to share this work by Christine, Ping, Geoff and colleagues-- a fascinating example of how environmental factors interact synergistically to alter the gut microbiome and impair hippocampal function and cognitive behavior in mice.
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  2021-07-21 — Check out Elena new article on roles for the gut microbiome in mediating effects of early life nutrition on neurodevelopment, especially in the context of the global prevalence of malnutrition.
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  2021-06-30 —Way to go Helen on winning the Suzanne Eaton award!
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  2021-06-08 —Congrats to Greg and Kristie on winning Whitcome fellowships!
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  2021-05-28 — Congrats to Elena on leading research with Annie Gupta and Emeran Mayer on microbial predictors of early life stress!
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  2021-05-27 —Congrats to Grace for winning the Dean's Prize for Undergraduate Research!
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  2021-05-24 —Dr. Christine Olson successfully defends her doctoral thesis!
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  2021-05-18 — Check out Kristie's deep dive on effects of the microbiome on circuits for feeding behavior
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  2021-05-10 — Excited to share Helen's new paper on interactions between the microbiome and antidepressant exposure during pregnancy
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  2021-04-29 — Guli knocked it outta the park (lab) with her snapshot of the gut-brain axis!
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  2021-04-13 —Elaine receives the Chancellor's Postdoctoral Mentorship award, an amazing honor!
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  2020-09-23 — Big congrats to Helen and lab members on their new paper on effects of the maternal microbiome on fetal neurodevelopment!
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  2020-06-05 —Congrats to Kristie for winning a Whitcome fellowship!
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  2020-06-03 —Congrats to Christine and Geoff for each winning a Dissertation Year Fellowship!
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  2020-06-02 — Check out a Christine and Greg’s highlight of “ester-ordinary” work by the Turnbaugh lab
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  2020-05-13 — Check out Ping’s highlight on awesome work by the Eggan lab
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  2020-05-07 —Honored to now be supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders, for our work on the microbiome and epilepsy!
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  2020-04-09 — Check out Kelly, Christine and Sabeen’s new perspective piece on microbiome-neuronal signaling!
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  2020-03-30 — Big congrats to Elena on being awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship!
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  2020-03-30 — Big congrats to Sabeen for winning an honorable mention for the NSF Graduate Fellowship!
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  2020-03-23 —Congrats to Jon on his postdoctoral fellowship from the Ford Foundation!
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  2020-03-17 —Way to go, Ping, on her fellowship from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation!
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  2020-03-06 —Congrats to Helen on her new K99 award from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
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  2020-02-01 — Check out Ping's new Spotlight of exciting work by Fan and colleagues!
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  2019-08-08 —Congrats to Christine on her F31 fellowship from National Institute of Aging!
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  2019-09-16 —Congrats to Geoff on his F31 fellowship from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development!
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  2019-09-26 — Check out Jon's new article on Microbiomes as Sources of Emergent Host Phenotypes!
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  2019-09-02 — Congrats to Thomas, the lab and collaborators on our new paper on how serotonin regulates bacterial colonization in the gut!
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  2019-08-06 — Congrats to Kelly on her News & Views article for Nature Medicine on new findings from the Turnbaugh and Balskus groups on microbes that metabolize L-dopa
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  2019-05-23 — Congrats to Geoff for winning best poster at UCLA’s Bioscience Innovation Day
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  2019-04-29 — Excited to have our recent KD paper selected for UCLA’s Life Sciences Excellence Award for Outstanding Research
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  2019-04-16 — Honored to be able to share our perspective in Immunity on the importance of neuroimmune research in the next quarter century!
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  2019-07-11 — Glad to contribute a diverse voice in Neuron on important challenges for the next generation of neuroscience!
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  2019-01-28 — Excited to see our work highlighted in the New York Times
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  2019-01-18 — Check out this commentary from Helen Vuong on new work by Martina Sgritta, Costa-Mattioli and colleagues.
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  2019-01-15 — Happy to share Geoff's new review on Perinatal Interactions between the Microbiome, Immunity, and Neurodevelopment
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  2018-12-05 — Extremely honored to join the Chan Zuckerberg Neurodegeneration Network and for support from the Ben Barres Early Career Award!
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  2018-10-23 — Congrats to Elaine on being named a NYSCF Robertson Investigator in Neuroscience!
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  2018-09-10 — Congrats to Helen and David on their new paper on the gut microbiota and morphine dependence with Dr. Anna Taylor!
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  2018-06-28 — Glad to see new highlights on our research from Science, Science Translational Medicine and Cell Host and Microbe
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  2018-06-27 — Happy to see PNAS highlighting our paper on the microbiome and ketogenic diet.
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  2018-06-05 — Catch Kelly's highlight on microbiome, serotonin and anxiety, featuring work by Ger Clarke and John Cryan
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  2018-06-05 —Congrats to Kelly on being awarded the UCLA Hyde fellowship!
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  2018-05-24 — Check out new research from the lab on how the microbiome mediates the protective effects of the ketogenic diet!
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  2017-10-17 — Congrats to Geoff on his Immunity Preview describing work from the laboratory of Dr. Lora Hooper
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  2017-10-16 — Honored for support from the Packard Foundation that will enable us to pursue exciting new research on microbiota-gut-brain interactions!
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  2017-07-13 — Grateful for support from the Simons Foundation and Klingenstein Fund that will enable us to advance a new research project!
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  2017-06-28 — Thanks to the Brain Research Foundation for supporting our research
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  2017-06-21 —Congrats to Geoff and Christine on being awarded UCLA predoctoral fellowships!
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  2017-04-14 — Honored to now be supported by DoD's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program
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  2017-03-08 — Congrats to Helen, Jessica and Thomas on their new article on the microbiome and host behavior!
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  2017-02-07 — Congrats to Thomas and Christine on their new review on microbiome and neuroimmunity in Nature Neuroscience!
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  2017-02-07 — Congrats to Helen on her new review on microbiome contributions to autism spectrum disorder in Biological Psychiatry!
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  2016-07-26 — Check out our microbial medalists for the equestrian event of the Microbial Olympics.
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  2016-05-12 — Watch Microbiomes Explained, a fun collab with Ph.D. comics.
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  2016-02-26 — Honored to now be sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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  2015-10-14 — Shout out to our serotonin findings in Nature News
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  2015-06-23 — The New York Times highlights our work in "Can the bacteria in your gut explain your mood?"
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  2015-06-09 — National Geographic names Elaine a 2015 Emerging Explorer
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  2015-05-04 — Tune in to our interview on the American Microbiome Institute podcast
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  2015-04-10 — Congrats to the lab and our collaborators on our new paper in Cell
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  2014-01-09 — Dr. Francis Collins features our work in his NIH Director's blog!