WEBINAR—The 2025 Goyal Award Lectureship: The Impact of Neonatal Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis Development on Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology

May 12, 2025
11 a.m. EDT

The 2025 recipient of the Raj and Prem Goyal Award Lectureship in Pathophysiology of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, Melanie Gareau, PhD, will discuss the development of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in neonatal life. A professor at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Gareau’s studies in mice have found that altered colonization of the gut microbiota can lead to GI gastrointestinal (GI) pathophysiology that persists into adulthood. 

Key Learning Objectives:   

• The importance of the development of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in early neonatal life. 
• Beneficial bacterial products can ameliorate GI pathophysiology. 

Speaker

Melanie Gareau, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Cell Biology, University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Melanie Gareau, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Cell Biology at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. She earned her PhD from McMaster University in Canada and completed postdoctoral training at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Gareau specializes in the microbiota-gut-brain axis with a particular focus on neonatal dysbiosis.  

Moderators

Karen Edelblum, PhD 
Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York 

Karen Edelblum, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology, Molecular & Cell-Based Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her current research focuses on elucidating the underlying mechanisms by which gamma delta intraepithelial lymphocytes contribute to maintenance of mucosal homeostasis. Edelblum is chair of the APS Gastrointestinal & Liver Section and co-chair for the Crohn’s and Colitis Congress, the annual meeting of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and the American Gastroenterological Association. 

Kim Barrett, PhD, FAPS
Vice Dean for Research, University of California, Davis School of Medicine

Kim Barrett, PhD, FAPS, is the Vice Dean for Research and Distinguished Professor of Physiology and Membrane Biology at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. She earned her PhD from University College London and conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Barrett’s research has centered on the physiology and pathophysiology of the intestinal epithelium and their relevance to inflammatory bowel diseases and diarrheal diseases. She is the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Physiology and is a past president of APS. 

Sponsored by

Note: This webinar will not be recorded.