Meet the Organising Commitee

  • Dr Javier Aguilera-Lizarraga (Ramón y Cajal fellow) is an emergent group leader at the Institute for Neurosciences of Alicante in Spain.

    Javi obtained his BSc and MSc in Biotechnology in Health Sciences at the University of Lleida, in Spain, and then moved to Belgium to perform his doctoral studies at the KU Leuven in the Laboratory for Intestinal Neuro-Immune Interaction led by Prof. Guy Boeckxstaens. In 2019, he completed his PhD in Biomedical Sciences and started his first postdoctoral training in the same group. In 2022, Javi embarked on his second postdoc at the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Cambridge in the UK, in the group of Sensory Neurophysiology and Pain led by Prof. Ewan St. John Smith. In 2025, Javi obtained a tenure-track position as Ramón y Cajal fellow to start his independent research lines in his home country.

    The research group of Dr Javier Aguilera-Lizarraga specialises in neurogastroenterology and neuro-immune interactions. More specifically, his work aims to unravel how the crosstalk between mast cells and intestinal sensory neurons contributes to the development of abdominal pain. He is also interested in better understanding the mechanisms by which nociceptive neurons communicate with the gut mucosa and affect gut function. Ultimately, he hopes his research will provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying abdominal pain and related gut symptoms.

  • Amy is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Rao lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on how enteroendocrine cells communicate with enteric nervous system to change both gastrointestinal physiology and behaviour. Her interest in the gut extends beyond the lab, as she works trying every weird dish she can find and on perfecting her cocktail making!

  • Friederike is a group leader and lecturer at the University College Cork/APC Microbiome Ireland and has been fascinated by all things gut-related throughout her career. Currently, Friederike and her team are investigating how specific bacterial metabolites affect gut physiology. When not at work, she likes to spend time in the wild Irish nature or make her own ice cream. 

  • Arashdeep Singh, Ph.D. – Project Manager & Scientist, Research Diets, Inc.

    Arashdeep Singh earned his undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from Thapar University, India, and his Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, where he explored how dietary protein and prebiotic fibers influence gut microbiota, energy balance, and metabolism. He went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship investigating the neurobiology of the gut-brain axis and its role in energy homeostasis. Over his career, Arashdeep has worked extensively with rodent models of hypertension and obesity—both monogenic and polygenic—developing deep expertise in metabolic phenotyping across diverse disease models. His work has earned him multiple awards, not only for research but also for his leadership and contributions to the scientific community.

    Since 2022, Arashdeep has been an active member of the Little Brain Big Brain (LBBB) community, and he is excited to serve as one of the organizers for the 2026 meeting in Colombia. In his current role at Research Diets, Inc. in the USA, he partners with scientists around the world to design rigorous, reproducible studies. He works closely with investigators to create tailored diet solutions, advises on study design and data interpretation, and stays at the forefront of discoveries in nutrition, food science, and biomedical research to help shape cutting-edge experimental approaches.

    Aside from his “nerdy science” life, Arashdeep loves traveling, socializing, and dancing, and he thrives on building long-term collaborations and friendships, both inside and outside of the workplace.

  • Lin Hung, PhD completed her doctoral training at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Dr Joel Bornstein and Dr Jaime Foong, studying the impact of early life antibiotic exposure on the development of the gut microbiota and the enteric nervous system. During her postdoctoral training at Columbia University and New York University under the mentorship of Dr Kara Gross Margolis, she has been investigating how gut epithelial and neuronal serotonin is a novel mechanistic and therapeutic target for symptoms of disorders of gut-brain interactions. 

  • The Blue Monkey is the official logo of LBBB. He has attended every LBBB meeting since 1991, and provide critical moral support to the 2026 organising committee.

The LBBB 2026 committee at LBBB 2024 in Thailand!