🧠⏰ Our new study shows that obesity disrupts the body’s clock, and the broken clock worsens metabolism.

Using mouse transcriptional data (normal vs. high-fat diet), we combined biological enrichment with Boolean network modeling to map gene-gene interactions centred on lipid metabolism.

We found under-expression of core clock genes (Bmal1, Clock) and a reciprocal loop: lipid metabolic disruption ↔ circadian misalignment amplify each other, undermining brain homeostasis.

These insights point to circadian pathways as therapeutic targets in obesity-related metabolic disorders.

Key takeaways:

🔬 Transcriptomics + systems modeling reveal a clock-lipid axis
🧩 Core clock genes downregulated in obesity (Bmal1, Clock)
🔁 Bidirectional disruption suggests circadian-targeted interventions

Want to know more? Please see here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0331218 

🏆 Double win!

Congrats, Manuela Faddetta and Rhyan O'Rourke Slattery, on earning the 2nd and 3rd Best Final Year

Project (FYP) in Bioscience awards! 🎓🔬🧬

Your dedication, hard work, and commitment truly paid off - and every minute was worth it 👏

Wishing you all the success in this exciting next chapter! 🚀🌟

🎉 Our event -“Transforming Mental Health in Peru: Innovation, Research, and the Future” - was a total success!

On Saturday, August 9, 2025, we brought together doctors, patients, community health workers, and caregivers for an open dialogue where everyone was heard. With the amazing support of Drs. Rosa Montesinos and Nilton Custodio (Instituto Peruano de Neurociencias) and our partners, Peruvian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Peruvian Society of Neurology and University of San Martín de Porres, we shared science in a clear, friendly way that connected knowledge to everyday life.

It was truly inspiring - and we can’t wait to do it again! 💙

A big thank you to everyone who joined us and made this moment so special.

#MentalHealth #Peru #Innovation #Research #Neuroscience #ScienceForAll #Community #Care #Neurosciences

Our new paper is out! 🎉

We’re excited to share our latest findings, shedding new light on hormone therapy.

Huge thanks to our brilliant PhD graduate - and now Postdoc -

Andrew J. McGovern for leading the way with such insightful results.

Your hard work and curiosity truly shaped this study! 👏

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332225006134 

🌟 Innovation in Mental Health: New Frontiers in Colombia 🌟

Join NeuroFree Minds for an exciting online symposium that will bring together top experts in psychiatry, public health, and neuroscience to tackle mental health challenges in Colombia. Explore cutting-edge topics like the impact of youth suicide, gender differences in mental health, and the transformative power of music therapy.

📅 [April 26th] | 🖥️ Online event (free) | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 🔗 Register now: see flyer below

For more information (in Spanish): https://www.barretolab.org/neurofree-minds/semcolombia2025 

Be part of the conversation shaping the future of mental health! 🚀 Don't miss out!

We’re very happy to welcome Fionn to the lab!

Fionn is a student in the MSc in Biomolecular Science program at the University of Limerick and will be working on the neuroendocrine mechanisms of aging in astrocytes.

We look forward to seeing the contributions he’ll bring to the team and wish him a great start to his project!