Emerson Mayer, MD, Ph.D.
Gastroenterologist, Neuroscientist, Professor in the Department of Medicine, Physiology and Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience at UCLA, and co-director of the CURE: Digestive Diseases Research Center
The Mind-Gut Connection: The Impact on Mood, Choices, and Health
The gut converses with the brain like no other organ. If you’ve ever felt queasy as you walked into an uncomfortable situation or based a life decision on a “gut feeling,” then you know that sometimes our bodies react faster and often wiser than our minds. Emeran A. Mayer, MD, Ph.D. is a gastroenterologist, neuroscientist and Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Physiology and Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is the Executive Director of the Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience at UCLA. He is the Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience at UCLA, and co-director of the CURE: Digestive Diseases Research Center. As Dr. Mayer explains, the connection between the mind and the gut is bidirectional: the gut talks to the brain and the brain talks to the gut every minute of our lives. One of the most intriguing aspects of this dialogue is the fact that the microbes living in our gut play a crucial role in it. When this communication channel is out of whack—due to diet, lifestyle, stress, excessive antibiotic use or illness—we experience mental and physical health issues including food sensitivities and allergies, digestive disorders, obesity, depression, panic disorders, anxiety, and fatigue.
NOTE: Dr. Mayer also spoke at two FAN events on the same topic, The Mind-Gut Connection: The Impact on Mood, Choices, and Health.
Event 1: Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 7:00 PM, New Trier High School/Northfield, Cornog Auditorium, 7 Happ Rd., Northfield.
Event 2: Thursday, April 27, 2017, 12:30 PM, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 25 E. Pearson St., Chicago.
Event Sponsors
- Chia Leah
- ECGC Parent Group at NTHS
- Erika’s Lighthouse
- Family Service of Glencoe
- The Josselyn Center
- Karen Malkin Health Consulting
- Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- National Alliance on Mental Illness – Cook County North Suburban (NAMI-CCNS)
- North Shore Country Day School
- Roycemore School
- Samaritan Counseling Center

Upcoming Events
What Matters Now: Emotional Balance and Core Needs in the Post-Pandemic Era
Nancy Burgoyne, Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer, The Family Institute at Northwestern University
Maru Torres-Gregory, J.D., Ph.D., LMFT
Core Faculty, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, The Family Institute at Northwestern University
Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life
Joann S. Lublin
Former management news editor and columnist, The Wall Street Journal
Suzanne Muchin
Co-founder, Bonfire, and clinical associate professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
Robert Kolker
Author of "Hidden Valley Road" and "Lost Girls"
Andrew Solomon, Ph.D.
Best-selling author; professor of clinical psychology, Columbia University Medical Center; former president of PEN America.