Exploring the Gut–Brain Connection at Sano 

A new interdisciplinary journal club bridges neuroscience and gut microbiome research

At Sano – Centre for Computational Personalised Medicine, researchers from across the institute have come together to launch a new initiative exploring the link between the brain and the gut microbiome: the Gut–Brain Axis Journal Club. This internal journal club, co-organized by the Computational Neuroscience and Structural and Functional Genomics groups, is already sparking lively discussions on one of today’s most fascinating and fast-growing areas of research. 

The first meeting took place on June 4th, led by the Computational Neuroscience group, and featured a discussion of “The Gut–Brain Axis” by Mayer, Nance, and Chen (Annual Review of Medicine, 2022). The second session followed on June 18th, hosted by the Structural and Functional Genomics group, focusing on the classic paper “Neuroimaging of the Brain–Gut Axis” by Mayer, Naliboff, and Craig (Gastroenterology, 2006). 

The journal club was initiated by PhD candidate Joan Falcó-Roget, and is designed as a cross-team forum where researchers can share insights, review seminal papers, and identify opportunities for future collaboration at the interface of neuroscience, genomics, and microbiology. 

By connecting expertise across disciplines, the Gut–Brain Axis Journal Club is helping to lay the groundwork for new research directions and integrative approaches to understanding how gut health and brain function are intertwined. 

We’re excited to see how this initiative evolves — and how it contributes to shaping Sano’s research in this emerging field.