Chemistry Faculty Member Awarded Grant to Study Connections Between Gut Microbiome and Immune Responses in Brain Cells

Congratulations to Dr. Chris Whidbey, assistant professor of chemistry, who – along with a collaborator at the University of British Columbia – was recently awarded funding from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) to investigate how gut microbiota shapes the development of microglia, resident cells in the brain that regulate brain functioning and injury repair and are crucial to mediating inflammation responses.

Dr. Whidbey and his collaborator will specifically develop and deploy a novel ‘photoaffinity’ approach that employs UV light exposure and mass spectrometry-based proteomics (the study of proteins expressed by cells). Dr. Whidbey’s work is funded through RCSA’s Scialog program, which advances transformational science by fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations.