Dr Stuart McDougall
BSc (Hons), PhD

Stuart received a B.Sc (Hons) majoring in pharmacology from Monash University in 1998. He subsequently worked as a research assistant at West Virginia University (1999 to 2000) before returning to Australia to earn a PhD in neuroscience from Monash University in 2005.

He completed his postdoctoral training in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon (2005 to 2011) in the Andresen laboratory with a CJ Martin fellowship. He was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in 2010. Stuart was recruited by The Florey Institute to establish a laboratory in 2012 and is currently a senior research fellow and group head within the institute.

Stuart’s primary interests are in neuronal signalling and synaptic integration. His research has primarily focused on the viscerosensory system, particularly neural signals sent from the internal organs to the brain via the vagus nerve. The McDougall laboratory, also known as the Viscerosensory Lab, aims to manipulate behaviours, such as satiety, seizures, and memory, as well as physiological outcomes like blood pressure, via selective modulation of viscerosensory signals. The group is currently pursuing optoceutical strategies to treat diseases such as obesity.

Key collaborators:

Professor Andrew Lawrence, The Florey
Professor Clare Parish, The Florey
Professor John Furness, The Florey
Professor Ross Bathgate, The Florey
Professor Andrew Allen, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Song Yao, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Jenny Gunnerson, University of Melbourne
Professor Mathias Dutschmann, Case Western Reserve University
Professor Lachlan Thompson, University of Sydney