Highlights
February 2026
First wave of GIBA flexible funding awards revealed
The UK GIBA Network+ has announced the first projects to receive funding through its Flexible Funds scheme, supporting innovative interdisciplinary research into the gut–immune–brain axis.
The inaugural awards span studies exploring how gut barrier integrity links to neurobehavioural outcomes, whether nutritional interventions can boost nervous system function after menopause, how ageing reshapes neuroimmune interactions in the gut, and whether probiotics can improve wellbeing by reducing inflammation.
Together, these projects will pump-prime collaborative research that deepens mechanistic understanding, integrate novel technologies and help forge long-term partnerships across the UK research community.
Read on for more details of the four awarded projects:
Systemic integration of gut microbial modulation effects across the Gut-Immune-Brain Axis (GIBA)
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Lead applicant: Andrea Monteagudo-Mera, University of Reading
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Co-applicant: Antonio Riva, Foundation for Liver Research & King’s College London
This project will investigate how gut barrier integrity and immune variability relate to other components of the gut-immune-brain axis. The team will generate new systemic immunological profiles to complement and integrate neurobehavioural and cognitive (resting-state fMRI, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, behavioural measures including facial emotion recognition, motor performance and tactile sensory function), microbiome, and metabolomics data from an existing large cohort of healthy individuals. This dataset also includes subsets of participants exposed to gut microbial modulation interventions (probiotics).
This ‘systems biology’ approach is essential to gain deeper insights into the integrated GIBA mechanisms across the body, and how gut, immune and neurobehavioural processes link together.
Alpha-lactalbumin supplementation to counter serotonergic gut-brain-axis impairment after the menopause
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Lead applicant: Paul Ansdell, Northumbria University
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Co-applicant: Kirsty Hicks, Northumbria University
This project will test whether a nutritional supplement (alpha-lactalbumin, a protein powder rich in the amino acid tryptophan) can enhance nervous system function in post-menopausal women.
Researchers have previously demonstrated that the spinal cord loses excitability following the menopause, a key physiological quality underpinned by the neurotransmitter serotonin. This excitability is critical for maintaining our ability to produce force and stay independent as we move from midlife to older age. Hormone therapy can counter this decline, but not all women are eligible for or wish to use it, so non-pharmacological alternatives must be explored.
Most of the body's serotonin is produced in the gut, meaning what we consume can directly influence brain chemistry and nervous system function. In healthy young adults, this supplement has been shown to increase serotonin levels, but it has never been tested in post-menopausal women. This project will therefore investigate whether the supplement can increase serotonin levels, enhance nervous system excitability, and improve strength and coordination in this population.
Spatial transcriptomics to examine the effect of aging on neuroimmune interactions in the human intestine - a pilot study
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Lead applicant: Michael FitzPatrick, University of Oxford
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Co-applicant: Agne Antanaviciute, University of Oxford
As we age, the gut’s nervous system (called the enteric nervous system, or ENS) starts to decline.
For example, certain immune cells that normally help protect nerves switch to a more inflammatory state with age, harming nerve health. Hormone-releasing cells also become less active, reducing signals that keep gut movement normal. Changes in gut bacteria make things worse by reducing beneficial compounds that support nerve health.
To study these complex interactions, researchers are using advanced techniques that allow them to look at cells in their natural positions within tissue, rather than isolating them. This includes spatial transcriptomics, which maps gene activity in tissue slices, combined with special staining to visualise nerve structures. The goal is to create detailed maps of how nerves, immune cells, and other gut cells interact—and how these relationships change with age.
This research will start with a pilot study comparing gut tissue from younger and older people. The findings will help build a bigger project aimed at understanding how aging affects gut health and could eventually lead to new ways to keep our digestive system healthy as we grow older.
A randomised controlled trial investigating the probiotic-mediated suppression of inflammatory cytokines as a mechanism for improving wellbeing
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Lead applicant: Patricia Sanz Morales, University of Reading
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Co-applicant: Prof Philip Burnet, University of Oxford
This project will test whether lowering circulating inflammatory mediators can improve emotional wellbeing and everyday cognitive function.
This study will evaluate the effects of a multi-strain probiotic on circulating cytokines and wellbeing through a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The intervention is a probiotic selected as a safe, acceptable and scalable mechanistic probe that perturbs the gut environment without adverse clinical effects.
Researchers will use a UK-licensed, quality-controlled, preparation with a matched placebo as a standardised, well-documented tool. The primary target is pre-specified as a baseline-adjusted pro-inflammatory composite, chosen for sensitivity and reproducibility in nutrition/microbiome trials and because these axes show the most consistent links to mood and prospective risk.
Pre-registered mediation analyses will test whether immune change explains part of any improvement in wellbeing. This integrated approach strengthens inference, delivers effect sizes and standardised methods, and provides openly shared resources to de-risk a larger multicentre RCT aligned with GIBA’s mechanistic remit.
October 2025
New collaborations emerge at launch of UK-first research network
Our pioneering research network has taken its first steps at a launch event in Southampton.
Researchers and stakeholders from across the UK gathered for the formal launch of the Gut-Immune-Brain Axis (GIBA) Network+.
The Network will support the development of new interdisciplinary research teams, provide funding, mobility, and training opportunities, as well as pathways to maximise the scientific, commercial and public impact of GIBA research.
It is the first time experts from across research disciplines in the UK are working together to advance mechanistic understanding of the gut-immune-brain axis.
More than a ‘gut feeling’
Growing scientific evidence shows that the gut and brain are in constant communication, sending signals back and forth through the immune, nervous and metabolic systems.
Advancing our understanding of these connections can help scientists find new ways to improve physical and mental health throughout life.
Keynote speaker Dr Rochellys Diaz Heijtz, from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, highlighted several recent advances in this field in opening the Network launch at the Southampton Harbour Hotel.
Over 45 organisations, including 28 universities, were represented at the event, with over 1,500 connections made between attendees through digital badge interactions.
Professor Jonathan Swann, Director of the UK GIBA Network+, said: “This new research network marks a transformative step in our understanding of how the gut, including the resident microbiota, and the brain interact with wide-ranging implications for health from influencing brain development to shaping cognitive function across the lifespan.
“By bringing together experts from different disciplines, we can provide new perspectives on how to study the gut-immune-brain axis and open up vital new areas of investigation, from neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), to age-related dementia. This collaborative effort will generate evidence-based insights that could reshape how we support physical, mental, and cognitive well-being at every stage of life.”
Ambitious first steps
Five working groups were announced at the launch to cover key research questions. These will start developing new collaborations over the coming year and address knowledge gaps.
The Network’s first funding opportunities were also revealed.
A training programme is being made available for members to build skills, tools and methods essential for progressing gut-immune-brain axis research and knowledge exchange. This will centre around theoretical concepts, data analysis, experimental techniques, and career development of early career researchers.
A first training course, offering an introduction to experimental design and core statistics, was publicised and is free to UK GIBA Network+ members. It will take place in Cambridge between the 8th and 10th of December.
Finally, the Network leads underlined the importance of public involvement and engagement for research, and committed to keep them at the centre of their activities.
Growing network
The UK GIBA Network+ is led by researchers from the University of Southampton, University of Cambridge, King’s College London and the Quadram Institute.
It will run for four years and has received £4.5 million in funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Over 400 people have signed up for the network in its early stages. Anyone with an interest in the gut-immune-brain axis and participating in research and knowledge exchange is invited to sign-up to join the network.
Although the network is UK-focused, members also welcome those outside of the UK to sign up.
