Dr. Lowry to Present Mary Murphy Endowed Lecture April 18

Christopher Lowry, PhD, will present the Mary Murphy, BVM, Endowed Lecture at Clarke University on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. in Jansen Music Hall on Clarke’s campus. His lecture is entitled, “Me, Myself and My Microbiome: The Role of the Human Microbiome in Mental Health.”

Admission is free.

Dr. Lowry is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder with a secondary appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is also a member of The American Gut Consortium, working to characterize the human gut microbiome based on data from a sample of 5,000 individuals in The American Gut Project. He also Co-Founder and Co-Director, with Dr. Lisa Brenner, of the Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE).

Dr. Lowry’s research program focuses on understanding stress-related physiology and behavior with an emphasis on the role of the microbiome-gut-brain axis in stress resilience, health and disease; neural mechanisms underlying anxiety and affective disorders; and development of novel strategies for both the prevention and treatment of these disorders and their medical comorbidity, such as allergy, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.

He has published 125 peer-reviewed articles and is currently an editorial board member for Stress: The International Journal on the Biology of Stress. His research is funded by The Office of Naval Research, National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development (VA-ORD), Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) Center for Neuroscience, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Mary Murphy, BVM, Endowed Lecture in Biology was established in memory of Mary Murphy, BVM, to invite noted scientists to present an annual lecture in biology at Clarke University. The purpose is to increase the exposure of Clarke University science majors to cutting-edge research, and provide science and health professional majors with insights into the practical application of scientific research in post-graduate careers. At the same time, it is open to members of the greater community as an opportunity to learn more about current advances in basic science and medical research.

For more information, contact the Clarke University Marketing and Communication Office at (563)588-6318.