Isabella Wagner‘s research focuses on interactions at the interface of the brain, cognition, and the gut microbiome. Specifically, her team’s work aims at elucidating how the gut microbiome affects neural plasticity, learning and memory. To assess brain function, her team uses magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, combined with advanced analysis methods such as brain connectivity and multivariate pattern techniques.

Isabella was awarded the Cortex Prize for her early career achievements in neuroscience by the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (2023). She has received a Veni Grant from the Dutch Research Council (2020) and an FWF Stand-Alone Grant (2021). Recently, she was awarded a Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation to elucidate the role of gut  bacteria in stress and genetic predisposition for dementia (2023), and an FWF grant to investigate  premature infant health (2023).