Why do we feel sick ?
The immune system and the central nervous system are two seemingly separate bodily systems that have long been studied independently. Yet, when the immune system is activated by infection or inflammation, the brain orchestrates a set of sickness symptoms thought to improve survival, such as fever, anorexia, lethargy and more.
The goal of the Osterhout lab is to understand
how a systemic infection makes us feel sick
We utilize cutting-edge approaches for behavioral characterization, viral-mediated functional circuit dissection, and single-cell gene expression analyses to better understand the principles governing immune-brain communication and the generation of sickness symptoms
Where to find us
Our lab is part of the thriving neuroscience community at the University of Utah. We are part of the Neurobiology Department in the School of Medicine and affiliated with the Neuroscience and the Bioscience PhD programs.
Members of our lab are actively involved in the Diversity and Inclusivity Action Committee (DIAC), Utah Women in Neuroscience (WiN), the Neurobiology Postdoc Group, the University Postdoctoral Association, the University of Utah SACNAS chapter, Brain Awareness Week (BAW) and other community outreach efforts on campus and the greater Salt Lake Valley.
News
5/1/25
Sophia Andreadis joins the lab!
Sophia is a rising second-year graduate student interested in sex differences in sickness. Welcome!
4/8/25
Hailee Walker recognized by the National Science Foundation with an Honorable Mention
11/26/24
Sam Hedges selected for the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)
7/1/24
Osterhout Lab awarded the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship
6/3/24
Michelle Swarovski awarded the Neurimmunology T32 fellowship
Congrats Michelle!
Press
Vitae 2025: The Neurobiology of Sickness
Jessica interviewed for Stories of Women in Neuro (WiN)
Stories of WiN features profiles of women in neuroscience.
Your brain could be controlling how you get sick
A news feature in Nature describes how scientists are deciphering communication in the brain during immune responses, hoping to find treatments for a range of diseases
Open Box Science
See Jessica present her work on the generation of fever and sickness behaviors on Open Box Science!
Brain Explained
Jessica featured on the Brain Explained podcast