Prof Francine Marques

Gut bacteria presence in the brain is increased after ischemic stroke in mice Systemic infections are a common cause of complications and death after stroke. These infections can occur due to the breakdown of the gut epithelial barrier and the translocation of bacteria from ...

New paper from our team 🧠🦠

After stroke, gut‑derived bacteria can migrate into the brain

Blocking sympathetic tone ↓ gut permeability, ↓ brain bacterial load, and improves motor outcomes—without changing infarct size

Congrats to Dr Alex Peh!

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

January 14, 2026 See you at MVIF next week! Gut microbiomeEarly-life colonization by aromatic-lactate-producing bifidobacteria lowers the risk of allergic sensitization – Pernille Neve Myers – Nature Microbiology&n…

New #MicrobiomeDigest is OUT microbiomedigest.com/2026/01/14/j...

• gut microbiome / @fasnicar.bsky.social
• maternal microbiome / @fzmarques.bsky.social
• bark microbiome / @bobpmleung.bsky.social

See you next week at #MVIF 45 (@microbiomevif.bsky.social)!

Excited to host Tim at the Victorian Heart Institute

Limited space, please sign up below

And thanks for sharing @monashnutrition.bsky.social

The maternal microbiome influence on pregnancy success: breeding comparison of germ-free and conventionalized mice Germ-free (GF) animals, which are entirely devoid of all microorganisms, are one of the most powerful tools for studying the role of the microbiome in a phenotype, moving the microbiome field from ...

For anyone working in microbiome science, gnotobiotics, or reproductive biology, I highly recommend giving it a read, published now in Gut Microbes:

🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

#microbiome #microbiota #germfree #pregnancy #gut

The maternal microbiome influence on pregnancy success: breeding comparison of germ-free and conventionalized mice Germ-free (GF) animals, which are entirely devoid of all microorganisms, are one of the most powerful tools for studying the role of the microbiome in a phenotype, moving the microbiome field from ...

A big shout out to Dr ChudanXu, who led this project, and Dr Simona Antonacci, who provided invaluable technical expertise

This paper is a reminder that rigorous science isn’t just about confirming hypotheses; it’s about staying open to the story the data is trying to tell

Unexpected results can be the most informative - if we’re willing to follow where they lead

Key take‑home messages:

- The maternal microbiome is not optional - it plays a critical role in supporting pregnancy outcomes

- Germ‑free breeding introduces hidden biological constraints that can confound experimental interpretation

In this case, the data led us to a cautionary tale about relying on germ‑free animals for breeding experiments

Our study comparing germ‑free and conventionalised mice revealed just how profoundly the maternal microbiome shapes pregnancy success

The maternal microbiome influence on pregnancy success: breeding comparison of germ-free and conventionalized mice Germ-free (GF) animals, which are entirely devoid of all microorganisms, are one of the most powerful tools for studying the role of the microbiome in a phenotype, moving the microbiome field from ...

Our first paper of 2026 is out

When we began this project, this was not the paper we set out to publish

But science has a way of redirecting us toward the questions we should be asking

#Microbiome researchers-this one’s for you

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🧵

Excited to welcome Tim to our institute

If you are in Melbourne and are interested in heart health and diet this will be a great event 👇👇👇

YouTube video by Francine Marques 2025 Hypertension Australia Colin Johnston Lecture, delivered by Prof Francine Marques

I was asked to share my Hypertension Australia Colin Johnston lecture, delivered at the joint Hypertension Australia-@ASCEPTanz last month in Adelaide

So if you missed it, here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qZn...

#microbiome #hypertension #bloodpressure #resistantstarches #shortchainfattyacids

😎 Nelson Mandela Epic Fail Award - Inspired by Mandela’s quote ‘I never lose. I either win or learn’, this award recognizes failing but learning from it: winners Liz Vecchio, Phoebe Cheong, and Evany Dinakis

🏆 Research Rockstar Award - For achieving the highest number of peer-reviewed recognition as a PhD student: Chaoran Yang

🏆 Research Rockstar Award - For achieving the highest number of peer-reviewed recognition as a postdoctoral researcher: @rikeish.bsky.social

📈 The Master Organiser Award - For being the most organised person in the team and helping others improve their organisational skills: winner Chudan Xu, runner up Simona Antonacci

📰 Trend Tracker Award - For being the go-to person for communication trends and finding the latest papers in the field: (several times) winner @rikeish.bsky.social, runner up Chaoran Yang

🫂 Awesomeness Award - For being an overall great colleague: winner Phoebe Cheong, runner up Wendy Qin

😄 Funniest Person Ever Award (our most competitive award) - For bringing joy and laughter to the team: winner Wendy Qin, runner up Evany Dinakis

✨ Values Vanguard Award - For supporting the lab values and living by their own values: winner Evany Dinakis, runner up Liz Vecchio

💚 Resilience Pro Award - For being the most resilient person in the team and helping others improve their resilience: (several times) winner Chudan Xu, runner ups Joanne O'Donnell & Jenny Li

💡 Resourcefulness Award - For their problem-solving attitude that has helped our team thrive: Winner Simona Antonacci, runner up Joanne O'Donnell

Announcing our lab annual award winners 🏆

Every year, our team votes on team members who contributed towards helping behaviours, something we fail to capture in promotion and fellowship applications

Here are the 2025 award winners:

Lab presentations at the joint @ascept.bsky.social and Hypertension Australia meeting this week 🤩

#hypertension #microbiome #immunesystem

🌍 Why it matters:

Our findings highlight how diet and gut microbiome (microbes, regional pH, metabolites) influence the host’s systemic immune regulation—with new connections and potential implications for chronic disease prevention

🔍 What we did:

We combined metagenomes, in vivo colonic pH, & deep peripheral immune phenotyping (121 cell types & subtypes) to uncover novel host–microbe interactions in humans - the most detailed map of microbiome interaction w the human systemic immune system to date

The gut microbiome and colonic pH shape the peripheral immune landscape in humans The physicochemical environment of the gut, particularly colonic pH, plays a critical role in shaping host-microbe interactions; yet its influence on systemic immunity in humans remains poorly underst...

✅ New preprint alert, led by final year PhD student Evany Dinakis

📄 Read it here: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

🧬 Key insights: Gut microbiome composition and colonic pH are linked to systemic immune profiles in humans

#microbiome #microbiota #immunesystem @microbiomevif.bsky.social

Gut Microbiota Metabolites Sensed by Host GPR41/43 Protect Against Hypertension | Circulation Research BACKGROUND: Fermentation of dietary fiber by the gut microbiota leads to the production of metabolites called short-chain fatty acids, which lower blood pressure and exert cardioprotective effects. Sh...

Congratulations to @rikeish.bsky.social, awarded the Victorian Cardiovascular Research Network inaugural award for best ECR paper of the year in the discovery category

#microbiome #bloodpressure

Kicking goals 👏👏👏

Full paper 👇👇👇

www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...

Congratulations to Rikeish R Muralitharan

His major PhD paper published in Circulation Research in February 2025 is already a WoS Highly Cited paper 🤩

lnkd.in/gMbx5HyA

Parental diet and offspring health: a role for the gut microbiome via epigenetics - Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology In this Review, Marques and colleagues discuss the evidence regarding the effects of parental diet on the health of offspring, with a focus on how changes to the gut microbiome alter epigenomic respon...

You can read more in our review published in Sept 25 in @natrevgastrohep.nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

💡 Take‑home: Maternal fibre intake during pregnancy is cardioprotective for offspring, but the effect may be exaggerated in males

@monashuniversity.bsky.social

🧫 Flow cytometry → sex‑specific changes in monocytes & lymphocytes

🧬 Single‑cell RNAseq → fibrotic genes reduced in both sexes, but inflammatory genes downregulated only in males

🦠 Microbiome → male offspring showed more changes than females