Food fight!

Treating people with eating disorders can be difficult, especially if the person has been ill for some time. Novel and effective interventions are urgently needed for those with severe and enduring eating disorders. Evidence suggests brain networks involved in self-regulation and reward are important in pathological eating behaviours in eating disorders, but can targeting these networks alleviate distress and improve symptoms? Join us at the pub and find out if non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) could help people with anorexia or bulimia nervosa.

Understanding the developmental origins of health and disease is integral to human existence. For example, the nutritional environment in the womb can impact on the later development and health of the fetus. Using animal models our group was the first to demonstrate that offspring of obese mothers are at increased risk of obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance in early life. This talk will outline the origins of obesity, the impact of early environmental insults and the many ways in which animal models can pave the way to further understanding of human conditions.