Alastair MacDonald
@alastairmacd.bsky.social
Postdoc neuroscientist at UCL studying brain circuits controlling food intake in the Trapp Lab. He/him.
A very vocal rodent in the wild, Pika @ Mammoth Lakes, CA
August 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
A very vocal rodent in the wild, Pika @ Mammoth Lakes, CA
Reposted by Alastair MacDonald
This was a really fun project: We blocked obesity in mice by making them do a tiny bit of work for their food. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A simple action reduces high-fat diet intake and obesity in mice
Diets that are high in fat cause overeating and weight gain in multiple species of animals, suggesting that high dietary fat is sufficient to cause ob…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This was a really fun project: We blocked obesity in mice by making them do a tiny bit of work for their food. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alastair MacDonald
Excited to share my first paper from my postdoc! In this study, we demonstrate that the mu opioid receptor produces a second wave of G protein activity on endosomes in a manner that doesn’t require receptor internalization. Check it out! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
April 25, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Excited to share my first paper from my postdoc! In this study, we demonstrate that the mu opioid receptor produces a second wave of G protein activity on endosomes in a manner that doesn’t require receptor internalization. Check it out! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Alastair MacDonald
Excited to share our preprint: "A Cellular Basis for Heightened Gut Sensitivity in Females."
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We address the question: Why do women feel more gut pain? We found that estrogen boosts communication between L-cells and EC cells, triggering increased gut sensitivity.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We address the question: Why do women feel more gut pain? We found that estrogen boosts communication between L-cells and EC cells, triggering increased gut sensitivity.
May 29, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Excited to share our preprint: "A Cellular Basis for Heightened Gut Sensitivity in Females."
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We address the question: Why do women feel more gut pain? We found that estrogen boosts communication between L-cells and EC cells, triggering increased gut sensitivity.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We address the question: Why do women feel more gut pain? We found that estrogen boosts communication between L-cells and EC cells, triggering increased gut sensitivity.
Reposted by Alastair MacDonald
Excited to receive follow-up funding from @nc3rs.bsky.social for our project refining mouse oral glucose tolerance testing by removing gavage & minimising handling. Excited to work with Bristol 3Hs initiative colleagues & others internationally.
Our initial paper in next post
tinyurl.com/2j9zbyp2
Our initial paper in next post
tinyurl.com/2j9zbyp2
£1.2M awarded through inaugural Partnerships and impact funding call
Awards to catalyse the transfer of 3Rs models, tools and technologies between labs, helping to build confidence and accelerate their adoption.
nc3rs.org.uk
January 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Excited to receive follow-up funding from @nc3rs.bsky.social for our project refining mouse oral glucose tolerance testing by removing gavage & minimising handling. Excited to work with Bristol 3Hs initiative colleagues & others internationally.
Our initial paper in next post
tinyurl.com/2j9zbyp2
Our initial paper in next post
tinyurl.com/2j9zbyp2
Reposted by Alastair MacDonald
Excited to share my first post here! Our new paper reveals a top-down breathing circuit that slows breathing to ease anxiety & fear. A step forward in understanding how brain-breathing interactions shape emotion. Published in Nature Neuroscience—grateful to my team!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 20, 2024 at 7:02 PM
Excited to share my first post here! Our new paper reveals a top-down breathing circuit that slows breathing to ease anxiety & fear. A step forward in understanding how brain-breathing interactions shape emotion. Published in Nature Neuroscience—grateful to my team!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alastair MacDonald
We developed a simple mouse glucose tolerance test protocol for diabetes research with voluntary oral glucose dosing instead of gavage. More physiological/aligned to the human test & better for animal welfare 👇🏻
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Please DM for detailed info or to arrange a chat
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Please DM for detailed info or to arrange a chat
Validation of a refined protocol for mouse oral glucose tolerance testing without gavage
A glucose tolerance test (GTT) is routinely used to assess glucose homeostasis in clinical settings and in preclinical research studies using rodent models. The procedure assesses the ability of the b...
www.biorxiv.org
November 20, 2024 at 6:13 PM
We developed a simple mouse glucose tolerance test protocol for diabetes research with voluntary oral glucose dosing instead of gavage. More physiological/aligned to the human test & better for animal welfare 👇🏻
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Please DM for detailed info or to arrange a chat
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Please DM for detailed info or to arrange a chat
Back from a lovely few days at Janelia for the Sensory Biology of Ingestion Conference 🧠👅🍽
November 15, 2024 at 4:57 AM
Back from a lovely few days at Janelia for the Sensory Biology of Ingestion Conference 🧠👅🍽