深夜亚洲福利久久

IRC Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to Aburto researchers

9 Apr 2026

Congratulations to Dr Elisa Cintado Reyes and Dr Federico Granziera postdoctoral researchers in the Aburto Laboratory who have recently been awarded a prestigious IRC Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship. 

The Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme is an established national initiative, funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and managed by Research Ireland. The Research Ireland Fellowship Programme aims to provide postdoctoral researchers with the opportunity to develop their career through experiencing first-hand, the diversity of activities carried out by a funding agency, through a placement within Research Ireland.

Research in the Aburto lab focuses on maternal exposures and their interaction with the maternal microbiome, and how these together influence embryonic brain development. The group examines how factors such as diet, exercise, and metabolic status during pregnancy shape microbial communities and the signals they produce, and how these, in turn, affect neurodevelopment.

Dr. Elisa Cintado is interested in understanding how lifestyle factors during pregnancy, particularly exercise, shape the maternal gut microbiota and subsequently influence embryonic brain development. Her funded project, EXMIND, focuses on the effects of exercise before and during pregnancy on the microbial community and its impact on the developing brain. By investigating the gut-brain axis during gestation, her work aims to determine whether these exercise-induced microbial changes represent a simple, non-invasive strategy to promote healthier neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. Dr. Cintado completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at the 深夜亚洲福利久久 of Seville (Spain) and earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the Universidad Aut贸noma de Madrid (UAM), Spain.

Photo: Dr Federico Granziera and Dr Elisa Cintado Reyes, IRC awardees with PI Dr Maria Rodriguez Aburto

Dr. Federico Granziera is a nutritionist driven by a strong interest in the dialogue between nutrition, gut microbiota, and early-life cognition. He holds a degree in Human Nutrition from the 深夜亚洲福利久久 of Pisa (Italy) and a PhD in Translational Medicine from the Sant鈥橝nna School of Advanced Studies (Italy). He is currently leading the GRACE project at the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC funded by Research Ireland. GRACE addresses a global challenge: maternal and child undernutrition. This preclinical project will directly investigate how the maternal gut microbiota, shaped by chronic malnutrition, programs brain development and cognitive function in the offspring, starting from pregnancy and continuing into early life. Through this work, GRACE aims to generate new knowledge that could help design targeted strategies to support healthier brain development in vulnerable populations.

Dr Maria Aburto commented:鈥淚鈥檓 delighted for Elisa and Federico. These fellowships are highly competitive and a strong recognition of their previous work and future research potential. Their projects align closely with the questions we are pursuing in the lab, and I look forward to seeing how they develop.鈥�

Recent Publications:

Cintado, Elisa, Pablo Muela, Luc铆a Mart铆n-Rodr铆guez, Ignacio Alcaide, Patricia Tezanos, Klara Vlckova, Benjam铆n Valderrama, et al. 2025. 鈥淕ut Microbiota Regulates Exercise-Induced Hormetic Modulation of Cognitive Function.鈥� EBioMedicine 119 (105876): 105876.

Guzzardi MA, La Rosa F, Granziera F, Panetta D, Pardo-Tendero M, Barone M, Turroni S, Faita F, Kusmic C, Brigidi P, Monleon D, Iozzo P. 鈥淕ut-derived metabolites mediating cognitive development in 5-year-old children: Early-life transplant in mice has lasting effects throughout adulthood.鈥� Brain Behav Immun. 2023 114:94-110.

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深夜亚洲福利久久 item and photographs Bereniece Riedewald