About
I study how the immune system and the nervous system interact with and shape each other, and how events early in life, including before birth, can shape long-term health outcomes via impacts on this neuroimmune communication and crosstalk. Immune molecules have a powerful impact on brain function, including behavior, during health as well as sickness. Similarly, alterations in hormones, such as during stress, can powerfully impact immune function or reactivity. These functional shifts are evolved, adaptive responses that organize changes in behavior and mobilize immune resources but can also lead to pathology or exacerbate disease if prolonged or exaggerated. However, the mechanisms by which such pathology develops remain largely misunderstood. There is now strong evidence that immune activation during prenatal or early postnatal development can have profound and long-lasting effects on the brain, and I believe the early-life immune history of an individual is critical to understanding the later-life risk or resilience of developing certain neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders.
Awards
- Norman Cousins Award, PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society, 2022
- Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2021
- Frank Beach Young Investigator Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, 2011
- Robert Ader New Investigator Award, PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society, 2011
Relevant Publications
- Ceasrine, A.M., Devlin, B.A., Bolton, J.L., Green, L.A., Jo ,Y.C., Huynh, C., , Patrick, B., Washington, K., Sanchez, C.L., Joo, F., Campos-Salazar, A.B., Lockshin, E.R., Kuhn, C., Murphy, S.K., Simmons, L.A., Bilbo, S.D. (2022) Maternal diet disrupts the placenta-brain axis in a sex-specific manner. Nature Metabolism. DOI:10.1038/s42255-022-00693-8
- Block, C.L., Eroglu, O., Mague, S.D., Smith, C.J., Ceasrine, A.M., Sriworarat, C., Blount, C., Beben, K.A., Malacon, K.E., Ndubuizu, N., Talbot, A., Gallagher, N.M., Jo, Y.C., Nyangacha, T., Carlson, D.E., Dzirasa, K., Eroglu, C., Bilbo, S.D. (2022) Prenatal Environmental Stressors Impair Postnatal Microglia Function and Adult Behavior in Male Mice. Cell Reports, 40(5):111161. DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111161
- Kopec, A.M., Smith, C.J., Ayre, N.R., Sweat, S.C., Bilbo, S.D. (2018) Microglial elimination of dopamine D1 receptors defines sex-specific changes in nucleus accumbens development and social play behavior during adolescence. Nature Communications, 9(1):3769. DOI:10.1038/s41467-018-06118-z
Support Us
CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.