Kick off an exciting three-part mini-series on the gut-brain superhighway with UW-Madison researchers Vanessa Sperandio and Maggie Rose Alexander. In this thought-provoking conversation, they will unpack the complex interplay between gut microbes, addiction, and immunity, sharing cutting-edge research and visionary perspectives on how these connections shape the future of brain and gut health in society.

Margaret Alexander is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison in the department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Alexander’s research is focused on understanding the mechanistic interactions between diet, the microbiota, and immune responses and the functional consequences of these interactions for autoimmune diseases. Dr. Alexander did her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Turnbaugh in the department of Microbiology and Immunology. She attended Carleton College for her undergraduate degree in Biology and the University of Utah for her PhD in the lab of Dr. Ryan O’Connell studying immune cell communication.

Vanessa Sperandio is the Chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Robert Turell Professor. She was the Jane and Bud Smith Distinguished Chair in Medicine, and a Professor in the departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She got her bachelors in biology, and her masters and PhD in Molecular Genetics in the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil.

We value inclusion and access for all participants. If you would like to request reasonable accommodations to enhance your participation experience, please email idhub@wid.wisc.edu no later than 2 weeks prior to the event. This event is wheelchair accessible.