Prof. Michael Meijler awarded $1.2 million grant from The Human Frontier Science Program

Prof. Michael Meijler of the Department of Chemistry has been awarded a Human Frontier Science Program grant for 2024.

The $1.2M research award is to conduct groundbreaking high-risk research to solve part of the puzzle that comprises the gut-brain axis. Meijler and his international colleagues will investigate how certain bacteria and their chemical signals affect human behavior, such as anxiety and stress.

For 2024, HFSP chose to support 34 project teams that include 108 scientists representing 23 nations. 

Prof. Meijler will collaborate with the research groups of Prof. Karina Xavier, Bacterial Signalling Laboratory, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, in Portugal, and Prof. Brittany Needham, Stark Neurosciences Institute, Indiana University in the US.

The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) is unique in supporting international collaboration to undertake highly innovative, risky, fundamental and multi-disciplinary research at the frontiers of the life sciences.

The gut of all mammals houses trillions of bacteria that are part of a diverse microbial community named the gut microbiota. Animals have a tight, bidirectional relationship with these passengers and communicate through chemical signals that impact the host's well-being, even influencing how the brain functions. However, the specific molecules responsible for this conversation and the sensors that receive these signals have largely remained unknown.

Recently, a new fascinating group of molecules called pyrazinones was discovered. These molecules were found in pathogens, where they function as signals between bacteria, influencing infection severity. Interestingly, these pyrazinones may also be produced by commensal microbes residing in healthy gut communities. Moreover, these bacterial signals share structural similarities with neurotransmitters produced by the mammalian host, and the bacterial pyrazinone receptors can sense host neurotransmitters. This suggests a crosstalk between these microbial molecules and host neurotransmitters potentially influencing not only the behavior of gut bacteria, but also the central nervous system and behaviors of the host.

To explore this intriguing concept, Meijler, Xavier and Needham will uncover the types of pyrazinones produced by the gut microbiota, engineer gut bacteria to manipulate these pathways and examine their impact on animal behavior.

"By synthetically producing pyrazinones and studying their impact on the behavior of both gut bacteria and mice, we aim to unravel a new dimension of communication between the animal host and their microbial symbionts. Our focus will be on understanding how these microbial signals can influence neurological functions. In summary, our research explores the possibility that these microbial signals, pyrazinones, can shape brain functions and behaviors. By shedding light on this novel form of communication, we hope to uncover new insights into the complex relationship between animal hosts and their microbial partners in the gut," the three wrote to outline their goals.

The Program is implemented by the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO), supported financially by Japan, Australia, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. Since 1990, more than 8,500 researchers from more than 70 countries have been supported. Of these, 29 HFSP awardees have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize.