INFLUENCE OF GUT MICROBES AND INFLAMMATION ON BRAIN FUNCTION AND BEHAVIOUR IN AUTISM
With
Angela Renata Jiménez Perez,
PhD Candidate,
Gut-Brain Axis Laboratory, RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | August 2026
Third-year PhD candidate Angela Jimenez is part of the Gut-Brain Axis Laboratory at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Angela holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience (Honours) from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and her doctoral research is currently supported by the RMIT–Mexico International Scholarship program.
Angela’s project focuses on describing how gut microbes and inflammation influence brain function and behaviour in autism. Using a mouse model that carries an autism-associated gene variant, she investigates how inflammatory challenges alter behaviour and brain function. Her work has been presented at both national and international forums, including the Australasian Neuroscience Society (ANS) annual meeting in 2025 and the FENS Forum 2026 in Barcelona.
A central aspect of her work explores how metabolites produced by bacteria in the gut can influence neurobiological responses, with the long-term aim of identifying microbiota-targeted therapeutic strategies for individuals with high-support needs autism.
Angela’s broader scientific objective is to advance mechanistic understanding of how other systems, particularly the immune system and microbiome, contribute to behavioural outcomes in neurodevelopmental conditions. She aims to bridge fundamental neurobiology with translational approaches that can lead to future therapeutic development.
Source: Supplied
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Renal care & data linkage of Tasmanian kidney disease cases
Professor Matthew Jose is a Renal Physician & Head of the Renal Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and Professor of Medicine for the University of Tasmania.
Winner of the 2021 Rural Science Award from the Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology, he has worked in regional, rural and remote Australian locations for nearly 20 years as a Renal Physician, including the Northern Territory.
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Risk factors and prevention of respiratory infections and infectious diseases in children
A/Prof Hannah Moore OAM is an infectious disease epidemiologist; Co-Head of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology team within the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Associate Professor at the School of Population Health, Curtin University in Western Australia.
A/Prof Moore has been awarded more than $19M in competitive research grants, co-authored more than 140 papers, was TEDxPerth 2018 speaker, recipient of a WA Young Tall Poppy Award (2013) and the WA Premiers Science Early Career Scientist Award (2015). In 2024, she was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to epidemiology as a researcher.
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Post stroke brain recovery targeting blood flow and vessel health
Dr Daniel Beard is a Senior Lecturer and Group Leader of the Neurovascular Research Laboratory at the University of Newcastle, with a distinguished career in stroke research. Dr Beard completed his PhD in Human Physiology in 2015, uncovering the impact of intracranial pressure on collateral vessel failure. He has held prestigious research and teaching roles at the University of Oxford and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, contributing to international collaborations on neurovascular protection. His research has been supported by competitive grants, including an NHMRC Ideas Grant, and he has received numerous awards for innovation, research excellence and teaching excellence.
