Current team members
Fabien Naneix, PhD
Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator
Fabien obtained his PhD in Neuroscience in 2012 from the University of Bordeaux (France) under the supervision of Dr Etienne Coutureau in the Decision and Adaptation team. During his PhD he investigated the role of the mesocortical dopamine pathway in goal-directed behaviour and its maturation during adolescence.
He stayed in Bordeaux for his first postdocs with Dr Martine Cador (Neuropsychopharmacology of Addiction team) and Dr Guillaume Ferreira (Laboratory of Nutrition and Integrative Neurobiology) to work on the long-term impact of sugar and high-fat diet overconsumption during adolescence on reward and memory processes.
In 2017, Fabien moved to the University of Leicester (England) to work as a postdoc with Dr James McCutcheon on the neurobiological circuits underlying protein appetite. In June 2020, Fabien is joining the Rowett Institute as Lecturer in Neuroscience.
Outside of the lab, Fabien enjoys baking, walking in the countryside and playing video-games.
You can find Fabien on Twitter / Google Scholar / ORCID / CV
Robert West, PhD
Research Assistant
Robert (Bob) received his BSc in Microbiology from the University of Aberdeen in 2000 and was awarded the Shewan-Davidson prize.
In 2007 he completed his PhD in Molecular Biology under the supervision of Dame L. Anne Glover at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen. His work included the creation, and characterisation, of a novel S. cerevisiae biosensor based on the expression of firefly luciferase under the control of the RAD54 DNA damage repair promoter.
Following on from his PhD, Bob continued his work in Aberdeen, based at the Medical Research Facility. In 2021, he moved to the Rowett Institute to join the Naneix Lab.
When not working Robert enjoys reading, walking with his two dogs, DIY, and amateur Astronomy.
Michela Barioglio
Undergraduate Honours Student
For her project she will investigate the impact of high-fat diets on the activation of reward-related brain structures. Specifically, I will be focusing on the adolescence period, as it is key in the maturation of the reward system.
Alfredo Elhazaz
Undergraduate Honours Student
For his project he will characterise glutamatergic afferents from the midbrain to the prefrontal cortex, a pathway which is involved in motivation, reward and learning. In his free time he enjoys hiking, music and martial arts.
Want to join us?
We are always keen to hear from talented people interested in joining the lab. For potential post-docs, please keep an eye on positions funded through grants (see the News page). There are also various fellowship schemes available in the UK and the EU. Please email me directly if you are interested by the lab.
For potential graduate students, the lab is part of the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition. You can find more information following this link. Interested candidates should also contact me directly. Keep an eye on the News page for potential funded positions.
Naneix Lab 