Researching gut health in Huntington’s disease brings recognition for Florey researcher
Florey researcher Dr Carolina Gubert has been honoured for her promising and innovative work investigating the impact of gut microbiome health in those with Huntington’s disease.
Dr Gubert has been named the Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation’s 2023 Emerging Researcher of the Year, recognising the ‘best and brightest young researchers destined to be future leaders in medical research’.
Dr Gubert is part of a team at The Florey investigating the impact of treating gut microbiota in Huntington’s disease, a neurological condition that gradually affects a person’s physical, emotional and cognitive function.
Presenting the award on behalf of the Foundation, Florey Professor Anthony Hannan said Dr Gubert had demonstrated remarkable leadership, innovation and independence.
“Carolina is using her unique skill set to explore an entirely new approach to treating Huntington’s disease.”
Professor Hannan said her work had never before been attempted in animal models of Huntington’s disease.
“Carolina’s findings have the potential to identify mechanisms and therapeutic targets to prevent and treat the cognitive, psychiatric and motor deficits associated with Huntington’s, and similar approaches could be tried in other brain diseases.”
Dr Gubert said the award had been a great opportunity to reflect and be proud of her achievements so far.
“More importantly, it has been an amazing injection of motivation for what comes next. My future goal is to target the gut microbiome in brain disorders identifying promising candidates with clinical relevance and translational potential,” she said.