Professor Amanda Page

Professor Amanda Page obtained her pharmacology Honours degree at Liverpool University before moving down to London to undertake her PhD at University College London. She then moved to Adelaide to work in the RAH and was involved in an industrial collaboration with AstraZeneca that resulted in 2 drug development programs and 5 patents. She moved to the University of Adelaide in 2010 and in 2016 she was promoted to professorial level. Professor Page is a leading authority on vagal innervation of the gut and how this relates to major disease states. This has involved pioneering studies on the phenotypic specialisation of vagal sensory endings, a classification that has been adopted world-wide. Using innovative approaches she has highlighted the importance of the stomach in the regulation of food intake and the complex interplay between gastric peptides and vagal afferent activity in addition to changes that occur in obesity.

The Gut and Health Regulation in Health and Obesity

When we feel full after a meal it is the result of a variety of different nerve signals from the gut in response to distension of the stomach and specific nutrients. These nerve signals are vital for maintaining energy homeostasis and are attracting more and more attention due to the potential for targeted drug treatments for conditions such as obesity. Whilst under healthy conditions this system is well tuned and demonstrated to be effective in the regulation of food intake it also represents a susceptible pathway for disruption in various disease states. This is particularly true in obesity where a high fat diet induces changes that promote food intake rather than the more desirable reduction in food intake. A more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms involved in vagal afferent satiety signalling will enable more effective drug therapies and/or lifestyle strategies for the treatment of obesity.

Lecture Recording: The Gut and Health Regulation in Health and Obesity

Recorded 23 August 2016 at the University of Adelaide