Why do we feel sick ?
Feeling sick is not simply a consequence of inflammation. The brain senses changes in immune activity and coordinates the behavioral and physiological responses that accompany illness, including fever, fatigue, appetite loss, pain, sleep disruption, and changes in social behavior. The Osterhout Lab studies how the immune system and brain communicate to create these coordinated responses and how this communication changes during infection and disease.
We study how the brain interprets immune activity and shapes the body’s response to illness
We combine quantitative behavioral analyses, circuit dissection approaches, and single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to identify the cells, signals, and circuits that translate immune activity into changes in brain function and behavior.
Our community
Located in Salt Lake City, the Osterhout Lab is part of the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. We are embedded in a vibrant, collaborative neuroscience community and affiliated with the university’s Neuroscience and Bioscience PhD programs.
Lab members also contribute to scientific, professional, and outreach initiatives across campus and the greater Salt Lake Valley, including the Committee for Respect, Unity and Engagement (CRUE), Utah Women in Neuroscience (WiN), the Neurobiology Postdoctoral Group, the University of Utah Postdoctoral Association, the local SACNAS chapter and Brain Awareness Week.
News
6/16/26
Chandler Peterson joins the lab as a research associate
Welcome to the lab!
6/10/26
Danielle receives the Postdoctoral Enrichment Program Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund
She will use this award to start an exciting new branch of her research and pursue career development opportunities
6/1/26
Danielle receives an F32 award from the NIMH
A long-awaited NOA! Congratulations!
5/15/26
Sean Manning joins the lab to conduct his thesis research
Sean is interested in how the brain interprets immune signals, Welcome!
3/24/26
Hailee was selected for the UU Graduate Research Fellowship
Press
Vitae 2025: The Neurobiology of Sickness
Jessica interviewed for Stories of Women in Neuro (WiN)
Stories of WiN features profiles of women in neuroscience.
Your brain could be controlling how you get sick
A news feature in Nature describes how scientists are deciphering communication in the brain during immune responses, hoping to find treatments for a range of diseases
Open Box Science
See Jessica present her work on the generation of fever and sickness behaviors on Open Box Science!
Brain Explained
Jessica featured on the Brain Explained podcast