Research Interests: Microbial modulation for healthy ageing.

As we age, cellular and molecular changes in the eye and the brain lead to worsening vision and memory, and increase our risk of developing dementias. This presents a huge socioeconomic challenge in our increasingly aged population. These age-associated changes are regulated by our immune system which in turn is strongly influenced by our gut microbiota. Changes in the composition and function of the gut microbiota have been linked with declining brain health, with recent studies implicating microbial modulation of signalling between the gut and the immune system (the ‘gut-immune-brain axis’). Growing evidence also supports a role for microbial involvement in age-associated eye diseases. We have previously shown that transferring gut microbiota from young donor mice to aged mice can reverse some of the detrimental inflammatory changes of ageing in the gut, the immune system, the brain, and the eye. In current work, I am defining which specific components of the microbiota are responsible for these beneficial effects, and determining the mechanisms and pathways by which they act. Ultimately, my work aims to establish how we can modify the gut microbiota to protect against both cognitive and visual decline in later life, and potentially protect people at risk against progression to sight loss and dementias.

Bio:

Following a PhD in Immunology at the University of Cambridge, I helped to develop interdisciplinary approaches to intestinal stem behaviour in health and disease as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Food Research. As a Senior Research Scientist at the Quadram Institute, my work has determined a key role for the gut microbiota in regulating age-associated inflammation. My current research as a BBSRC Fellow at the Quadram Institute aims to determine how we can modulate the microbiota to protect the ageing eye and brain.

Key Publications

Parker A, Romano S, Ansorge R, Aboelnour A, Le Gall G, Savva GM, Pontifex MG, Telatin A, Baker D, Jones E, Vauzour D, Rudder S, Blackshaw LA, Jeffery G, Carding SR. Fecal microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks of the aging gut, eye, and brain. Microbiome. 2022 Apr 29;10(1):68.  doi: 10.1186/s40168-022-01243-w. PMID: 35501923; PMCID: PMC9063061. https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-022-01243-w

Parker A, Fonseca S, Carding SR. Gut microbes and metabolites as modulators of blood-brain barrier integrity and brain health. Gut Microbes. 2020;11(2):135-157. Epub 2019 Aug 1. PMID: 31368397; PMCID: PMC7053956. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2019.1638722