Gastroenterology, Immunology and Neuroscience

Gastroenterology, Immunology and Neuroscience (GIN) Discovery Program

Who we are | Research themes | Events and initiatives | The Pitch

90% of chronic health conditions are linked to interactions between the gut, immune system, and the brain. Research in this area is critical for breakthroughs to treat and prevent conditions that range from digestive disorders to mental health challenges. Our team’s expertise across Gastroenterology, Immunology, and Neuroscience positions us uniquely to lead this transformative research frontier.

In the realm of medical research, traditional methods that focus on single organs or systems often fall short in addressing the complexities of many widespread health issues.

By investigating things in isolation, we often miss the intricate interplay between different domains of the body.

The GIN Program’s research goes beyond traditional boundaries by viewing chronic health conditions through an integrated lens, centering on the gut-immune-brain axis. We must understand this nexus of the gastrointestinal, immune, and nervous systems as an interconnected system. This is pivotal in understanding and treating an array of conditions—including allergies, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, as well as neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorders, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

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Connect with the GIN Discovery Program
Email: stm-ginprogram@monash.edu
Twitter: @GIN_Discovery
LinkedIn: GIN Discovery Program

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Who we are

The GIN Program was born in 2021 from a single powerful idea shared by three researchers: exploring new ways to collaborate beyond traditional research silos to foster a culture of integrated science. The program now consists of over 180 world-class scientists and clinicians who are passionate about improving our understanding of the gut-immune-brain axis.

The Executive team

Events and initiatives

Our seed funding award supports collaborative research projects led by early- and mid-career researchers that advances our understanding of the gut-immune-brain axis in health and disease.
‘The Pitch’ is open to all final year PhD students and early- and mid-career researchers across Monash University as well as external institutions. They are the drivers of innovation within research. Funding for each project is up to $25,000 for 12 months.
GIN hosts monthly seminars featuring leading researchers and clinicians discussing the latest findings in gut-immune-brain axis research. These events, open to the broader academic and scientific community, provide a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and community engagement, fostering innovation in health science.
GINnovate is our annual innovation and entrepreneurship evening. The inaugural event in 2023 was held in an informal setting with a panel comprising business experts and researchers who have navigated the commercialisation pathway. The event was exceptionally well received by attendees, demystifying commercial opportunities and promoting engagement with business and innovation.
Our annual symposium brings together local, national, and international leaders across the GIN fields and has hosted approximately 100 attendees for each of the 2 editions held so far, strengthening both internal and external partnerships.

The Pitch

The Pitch supports collaborative research between early and mid-career researchers that contributes to our understanding of the gut-immune-brain axis. Successful projects receive up to $25,000 to support novel research projects.

The Pitch funded projects to date

Can we treat concussion by restricted feeding? Exploring the gut-brain axis during brain injury
Glenn Yamakawa & Aidil Zaini
Concussion is a highly prevalent injury, particularly occurring in adolescence. These head injuries are known to cause inflammation in the brain. Given brain development is crucial during these formative years, the consequences of concussion may be serious and long-lasting. Although inflammation starts in the brain, the gut can also be impacted. The connection between the gut and the brain is referred to as the gut-brain axis. Due to an increasingly 24-hour society and widespread artificial lighting, productivity, or social activities can now occur at all times of the day or night. Similarly, in many modern societies, food is readily available around the clock. Unfortunately, these 24-hour societies are not compatible with the environments in which all living creatures evolved. The overarching goal of this study is to determine whether modifying the feeding regime can promote a healing response to reduce concussion-induced inflammation in both the brain and the gut. We hope to harness these dietary interventions as a potential treatment for brain injury.
Idrish Ali & Evelyn Tsantikos
Multiple studies have shown that inflammation in the brain plays a critical role in the development of epilepsy. It has also been shown that inflammation elsewhere in the body can feed back into the brain via the bloodstream and worsen epilepsy outcomes. By applying this knowledge to the study of a known growth factor which is involved in the regulation of peripheral myeloid cells that can promote chronic inflammatory disease in other settings, we propose that the loss of this factor alters peripheral and brain immune responses and will evaluate its potential for therapeutic targeting in epilepsy.
Matt Hudson, Zoe Ding & Robb Wesselingh
Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) constitutes a group of inflammatory brain conditions, presenting with seizures, cognitive deficits, and mood/behavioural alterations. Up to 50% of the AE cases are associated with the presence of antibodies in the patient's cerebrospinal fluid which target neuronal proteins, with antibodies against the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor (NMDAR) being the most common. However, the pathogenic mechanism of those antibodies is not well-understood, largely due to the lack of valid animal models. In this proposal, we aim to establish a mouse model of AE by administering anti-NMDAR antibodies directly to the mouse brain and we will assess behavioural and immunological changes during the disease development. This project will form the basis for pursuing long-term goals in identification of the pathogenic NMDAR epitopes responsible for disease, exploring how systemic antibodies enter the brain to cause disease, and development and testing of novel, targeted therapeutics.