loreto.olavarriaramirez@ucc.ie

Loreto’s research examines how the changes in the gut microbiome relate to psychobiological stress and social anxiety.

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Loreto is co-supervised by Dr Gillian Murphy, School of Applied Psychology, and works on projects conducted in collaboration with Dr Cian McCafferty and Professor John Cryan, Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC and the APC Microbiome Ireland.

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Loreto’s research programme incorporates pre-clinical studies as well as work with community populations in an effort to describe how and when changes in cortisol stress responses, the gut microbiota and cognitive processes influence anxiety, with a focus on social anxiety.