We welcome Dr. Anna Hayes, an affiliate faculty member of the Moore Family Center and newly appointed assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University (OSU). Dr. Hayes recently completed an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Southern California, where she researched what has been called the “gut-brain axis,” a set of elusive connections that link the foods we eat to the brain.

It is known that the gut and brain are linked through nerves (such as the vagus nerve), but the microbiome also influences the signals sent back and forth between the brain and the gut. The carbohydrates that we eat have a lot of influence on the gut, with the digestion of carbs affecting blood sugar, feelings of hunger and fullness, and the undigested parts of carbs (dietary fibers) shaping the gut microbiome.

These links are crucial to gut health and human health in general, and each connection is a fascinating puzzle for Dr. Hayes, who combines the perspective of carbohydrate chemistry gained through a PhD at Purdue University, with the point of view of behavioral neuroscience, equipping her with a toolbox to figure out how foods we eat affect the gut and brain.

Some of Dr. Hayes’s previous studies investigated the ancient grain pearl millet and its influence on digestion and control of food intake. She has looked at how certain carbohydrates can combine with proteins and other food components during heat treatment, resulting in changes in the gut microbiome, health of the gut wall, and cognition. Now at OSU, Dr. Hayes’ work includes investigating how foods affect the gut and brain, health implications of ancient grains and whole-grain foods, and how spent grain can be incorporated into healthy foods for the future.