gNeuro is an interdisciplinary initiative that brings together scientists across New England who share a passion for understanding the neurobiology of the gut.

The digestive tract is one of the largest interfaces between a host and its environment. The continuous and coordinated digestion of and response to the complex mixture of nutrients, microbes, and chemical signals within the gut lumen are absolutely essential for life. This digestive tract is richly innervated by neurons with cell bodies located both within the gut itself (the enteric nervous system) and those located elsewhere that send projections into the gut (vagal afferent and efferent neurons, post-ganglionic sympathetic neurons, and spinal afferent neurons). This diversity of neurons and glia interact with each other as well as the immune and endocrine systems to regulate many fundamental aspects of host physiology and behavior. Dysfunction in these molecular and cellular circuits contributes to many disorders of human health, including inflammatory and functional gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, autism, obesity and neurodegenerative disease.

gNeuro is a forum for neuroscientists, gastroenterologists, immunologists, chemists, microbiologists, engineers and many others who are focused on the neurobiology of the gut to share ideas, tools, and the latest advances in this exciting field. As a joint initiative of the Harvard Brain Science Initiative (HBI) and the Harvard Digestive Disease Center (HDDC), any member of the academic community across New England is invited to participate and welcome to join.

To receive general updates about gNeuro as well as neuroscience news and other events at Harvard, please join the Harvard Brain Science Initiative mailing list. 

For questions about the gNeuro initiative, please contact Amy Shepherd or Meenakshi Rao