Join us for a talk by Dr. Julian Avila-Pacheco, Associate Director of Metabolite Profiling at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, as he shares groundbreaking findings on a newly identified brain metabolite with potential implications for treating tuberculous meningitis (TBM), the deadliest form of tuberculosis. Through a comprehensive metabolomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from TBM patients, Dr. Avila-Pacheco and colleagues discovered and characterized gamma aminobutyric acid-arginine (GABA-Arg), a dipeptide linked to survival outcomes. Detected primarily in brain regions such as the hypothalamus and hippocampus, GABA-Arg appears to play a role in stress-response pathways and may offer a protective effect. This talk will highlight how GABA-Arg was identified, its correlation with oxidative stress, and its promise as a target for host-directed therapies in TBM. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the intersection of neuroscience, infectious disease, and metabolomics!