Dr. Giada De Palma is an Assistant Professor and Research Associate at McMaster University, specializing in microbiome research and its interactions with the neuro-immune system. Giada completed her PhD in Valencia under the supervision of Dr. Yolanda Sanz, where she investigated the role of the gut microbiome in celiac disease. She then moved to Canada for a postdoctoral fellowship on the microbiome–gut–brain axis with Dr. Premysl Bercik and Dr. Stephen Collins, with whom she continues to work to this day. Her work focuses on translational research exploring the gut microbiome’s role in disorders of the gut-brain axis and mental health conditions. She has a particular interest in microbiome-diet interactions, microbially-derived metabolites and their impact on host physiology and symptom presentation.