Julia Rode

About Julia Rode

Julia Rode is Associate Senior Lecturer in physiology at the School of Medical Sciences. Previously, she has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Nutrition-Gut-Brain Interactions Research Centre (NGBI) and the Centre for Experimental and Biomedical Imaging in Örebro (CEBIO). In autumn 2022, Julia stayed as a visiting researcher at Linnaeus University in Kalmar.

She has a background in nutritional science (BSc) and molecular biotechnology (MSc) from the Technical University of Munich in Germany. In 2021, Julia defended her PhD thesis on the gut microbiota, its modifications and the gut-brain axis which was awarded the Best PhD Thesis Award 2021 by Nutrients.

Research

Julia Rode’s research is very inter- and multidisciplinary.

On the one hand, she aims to understand the (patho-)physiological processes of the interaction between the gut and the brain – especially from a modes of action perspective. This is investigated by challenging and modulating the gut-brain axis from both sides. Julia is involved in human studies using interventions such as faecal microbiota transfer and probiotics or challenging models such as serotonergic stimulation. She has received funding for a probiotics intervention study on the effects on gut-brain biomarkers and brain health from the Dr P Håkansson Foundation in 2023 (400 000 SEK). For even more mechanistic investigations, Julia envisions to build a standardised and personalisable ex vivo model of the gut-brain axis for which she received an ESPEN Research Fellowship in 2020 (ca. 400 000 SEK) and strategic research funding from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at Örebro Unviersity in 2023 (ca. 142 000 SEK).

On the other hand, Julia works on finding biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment response prediction of psychiatric diseases.

Both research focuses substantially involve functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

In addition to her own research, Julia acts as associate leader for one of the work packages in Rosetta@ORU.

Teaching

Julia Rode’s teaching assignments include the course coordination of the term 2 Translational Medicine course (MC904A. 15 hp) and teaching of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) classes as part of the term 3 Nutrition-Gut-Brain Physiology (MC908A, 15 hp) courses of the international master’s program Experimental Medicine.

Julia is involved in the topic grupps (temagrupp) for senses/psych and neuro/movement with assignments in the first terms of the Medical Program which are dominated by biomedicine. In the first term, she also holds a lecture about muscle physiology and about the autonomic nervous system (MC601G).

She has many years of experience as a base group supervisor (problem-based learning tutor) and laboratory supervisor in the medical program as well as the international master’s program.  

She regularly supervises internal as well as external student’s during their thesis work (Bachelor, Master, Medical students). Julia is also co-supervisor of a PhD student.

Julia also has a teaching assignment at the School of Health Science at Örebro University which consists of lectures and examinations mainly in cellbiology, metabolism, gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology in the first term of the biomedical analyst (MC111G), nurse (MC326G), radiology nurse (MC201G) and occupational therapist (MC036G) programs. Additionally, she teaches about research process (MC097A, MC077A, BL097A) focused on research ethics and literature report writing.

Collaborations

Julia Rode’s national collaborative network includes researchers from Örebro University and Örebro University Hospital, Linnaeus University in Kalmar and the Centre for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR) at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. In autumn 2022, Julia visits the collaborating laboratory in Kalmar to learn and perform an in vitro method as part of the establishment of the gut-brain axis model. During her time as a PhD student, Julia made many national connections with peers during her participation in the Bengt Ihre Research School and as member of the board and leader of the social activity committee of ORU’s Doctoral Student Section (DokSek). Since Julia has been a postdoc she regularly joins activities organised by ORU’s Junior Faculty.

Internationally, Julia Rode collaborates with researchers from the University of New England (USA), University of Konstanz (Germany), Technical University of Munich (Germany) and University of California, Los Angeles (USA).

As part of her research, Julia Rode also works in projects that collaborate with companies such as GSK Consumer Healthcare, Haleon, BioGaia, AnaBio and GE.

Outreach

Julia Rode is passionate about communicating her research within the science community as well as to the general public. She regularly visits scientific conferences, does science comm on social media (especially Twitter) and joins popular science events.