• The grant provides an opportunity to hire predoctoral research staff in training, in this case, researcher Sara Paulí joins the team.
• The project’s thesis investigates the association between obesity and cognitive decline, as well as the potential mechanistic role of the gut microbiome.

Predoctoral researcher Sara Paulí has joined the Nutrition, Eumetabolism, and Health research group at the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI) thanks to a Joan Oró grant from the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR). This research group focuses on key areas such as the brain as a metabolic organ, the role of the microbiota in obesity and type 2 diabetes, among others.

The candidate will use this fellowship to investigate the association between obesity and cognitive decline, the potential mechanistic role of the gut microbiome, alterations in tryptophan metabolism, and neuroinflammation. Her project also aims to assess the role of lipids in extracellular vesicles as valuable biomarkers of cognitive function. The studies will be supervised by Dr. Jordi Mayneris-Perxachs.

The grant is funded with the support of the AGAUR-FI predoctoral program (2023 FI-1 00515) Joan Oró from the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund Plus.