Mrs Joanne Gladding

I am a PhD candidate interested in the how cognitive processes are impaired as a result of obesity. Using rodent models, my research investigates the role of the insulin receptor, and insulin resistance, in appetitive learning, hippocampal-dependent memory, and decision-making. It aims to outline how dietary induced obesity and subsequent central insulin resistance 1) impacts transport of insulin across the blood-brain barrier and 2) disrupts goal-directed appetitive behaviours. I use Pavlovian-instrumental transfer paradigms, viral techniques, and transgenics to carry out these investigations. More broadly, I am interested in the translation between neuroscientific advances and public health prevention for obesity related/induced dementias and cognitive decline.