PhD project: The role of the microbiome in disease-associated mental and behavioral problems - The case of phenylketonuria (PKU)

I’m interested in the link between the microbiome, brain and behaviour. I study this link under a pathological condition called phenylketonuria (PKU), which is a metabolic disorder in which there is an inability to convert phenylalanine into tyrosine. This can lead to behavioural changes as deficits in learning and memory, increase in depression- and anxiety-like behaviours and sleep loss. I want to examine to what extend these behavioural problems are related to the microbial communities present in the gut in PKU mice.