BBRF’s grant for Liam Barry-Carroll

Liam Barry-Carroll, post-doctoral researcher at NutriNeuro, was awarded the 2024 NARSAD young investigator grant from the Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation (formerly known as the NARSAD).

Liam Barry-Carroll

Liam Barry-Carroll works in the team NutriMind, under the mentorship of Jean-Christophe Delpech and Charlotte Madore.

His project

His project is titled “Unravelling the role of microglia-derived extracellular vesicles in early life stress” and will run for 2 years.

Early life stress (ELS) has been widely implicated in the development of psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Numerous studies have underscored the deleterious effects of ELS on neurodevelopment and susceptibility to psychiatric disorders with emerging evidence suggesting a pivotal role of microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, in mediating these effects. Here we aim to explore the impact of early life stressors on the emergence of PTSD, focusing on limited bedding as a model of ELS in rodents. Our preliminary data from ELS mice indicates significant alterations in the homeostatic phenotype of microglia and changes in the expression of genes related to extracellular vesicle (EV) content, biogenesis and release suggesting a potential role of microglia-derived EVs in mediating the effects of ELS. Building upon these findings, our study aims to elucidate the role of microglia-derived EVs in ELS-induced neurological disturbances. Leveraging established protocols for EV isolation and analysis, we will characterize the content of microglia-derived EVs in ELS mice and explore their interactions with other microglia and neuronal cells using complementary in vitro models. This research has significant implications for understanding the pathophysiology of PTSD and other stress-related disorders and offers insights into potential therapeutic targets and interventions aimed at mitigating the long-term consequences of early life adversity on neurodevelopment and mental health outcomes. Overall, I will continue to build on the groundwork that has been established since beginning my postdoc as part of the ExoMarquAge chaire under the mentorship of Jean-Christophe Delpech and Charlotte Madore.