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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Stevenson lab students present poster at national biomedical research meeting in Washington, D.C.

Glenn Stevenson in his lab with students who presented a poster at a national conference
Glenn Stevenson in his lab with students who presented a poster at a national conference

Philomena Richard (Neuroscience, 鈥18), Sarah Couture (Neuroscience, 鈥18) and Emily Payne (Med Bio, 鈥19) presented a poster at the NIH National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence on June 25.

All three students are current full-time research assistants or recent alumni in the behavioral pharmacology laboratory of Glenn Stevenson, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and program coordinator for the Neuroscience major.

The students presented data on the effects of gut microbiome modulation on distal site inflammatory pain-related behaviors and proinflammatory cytokine expression in Fisher rats.

The gut microbiome-brain axis is a trending topic in science now.  The microbiome can alter pain response and inflammation, but very little is known about how the microbiome may alter conditions that contain both inflammation and pain symptoms.

The students鈥 data indicated that pretreatment with narrow-spectrum antibiotics depleted 鈥済ood鈥 bacteria in the gut, and simultaneously and completely blocked inflammatory pain-depressed behaviors for seven consecutive days. The data provides evidence that modulation of gut microbiota has robust protective effects against pain and inflammation regulation.

The experiments were completed in collaboration with Kyle Bittinger, Jung-Jin Lee and Lisa Mattei, of Penn Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia and Tamara King and Meghan May from 51小黄车College of Medicine.

Funding for all experiments was provided by a COBRE Pilot Award to Stevenson.

Glenn Stevenson with his students Sarah Couture, Emily Payne and Philomena Richard in Washington, D.C.
Glenn Stevenson with his students Sarah Couture, Emily Payne and Philomena Richard in Washington, D.C.

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The University of 51小黄车 is Maine鈥檚 largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state鈥檚 top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine鈥檚 only medical college, Maine鈥檚 only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.