Celia Fourrier

Dr Celia Fourrier

Affiliate researcher

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Dr Célia Fourrier is a post-doctoral research scientist in the Lysosomal Health in Ageing group, Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, Lifelong Health Theme, at SAHMRI and an affiliate researcher in the Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, at the University of Adelaide.

She completed her PhD in Bordeaux, France, where she investigated the role of neuroinflammation in emotional and cognitive alterations associated with obesity under the supervision of Dr Nathalie Castanon. She showed that inflammation, and particularly TNF-α, could be an important target in the treatment of mood disorders in obese individuals (Fourrier et al, 2018; Fernandez de Cossio et al, 2018). In addition, she investigated the effect of nutritional interventions with specific nutrients (i.e. n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants) on metabolic, mood and cognitive alterations in inflammatory conditions (Larrieu et al, 2014) and on the regulation of inflammatory processes in the brain (Fourrier et al. 2017).

During a first postdoctoral position, under the guidance of Prof Bernhard T Baune in the Discipline of Psychiatry at the University of Adelaide, her research activities encompassed a new approach to personalised psychiatry with a focus on the role of the immune system in psychiatric disorders. From 2017 to 2019, she coordinated a clinical trial that investigated the efficacy of using an antidepressant augmented with an anti-inflammatory medication in the treatment of major depressive disorder.

Célia started a second postdoctoral position at SAHMRI in 2019 under the guidance of Dr Tim Sargeant. Her current research focuses on how the relationships between the immune syste and the lysosomal system can be targeted in neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a memory-robbing disorder responsible for 60-70% of the 50 million cases of dementia around the world. Although billions of dollars have been spent on developing therapies, there is still no treatment available - over 400 trials aiming to stop disease progression have repeatedly failed to help patients.

Disruptions of the brain immune system have a crucial role in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The brain’s immune cells, called microglia, recognise aggregated proteins thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease and engulf and degrade them. In the brains of people who live with Alzheimer’s disease, microglia dysfunction causes the accumulation of those proteins, which triggers inflammation. This inflammation promotes neurodegeneration, leading to cognitive decline and loss of independence. This central role of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease highlights a need for compounds that alter microglia to a more protective phenotype.

My overarching research aim is to develop new treatment strategies that restore this protective function of microglia in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease. I do this by simultaneously reducing inflammation and increasing microglia's ability to clear and degrade accumulated material through autophagy, a cellular process that cleanses the cells and keep them healthy.

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  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2021 Fourrier, C., Bryksin, V., Hattersley, K., Hein, L. K., Bensalem, J., & Sargeant, T. J. (2021). Comparison of chloroquine-like molecules for lysosomal inhibition and measurement of autophagic flux in the brain. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 534, 107-113.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1 Europe PMC1
    2021 Bensalem, J., Fourrier, C., Hein, L. K., Hassiotis, S., Proud, C. G., & Sargeant, T. J. (2021). Inhibiting mTOR activity using AZD2014 increases autophagy in the mouse cerebral cortex. Neuropharmacology, 190, 108541.
    DOI
    2021 Knight, M. J., Lyrtzis, E., Fourrier, C., Aboustate, N., Sampson, E., Hori, H., . . . Baune, B. T. (2021). Psychological training to improve psychosocial function in patients with major depressive disorder: A randomised clinical trial. Psychiatry Research, 300, 113906.
    DOI
    2020 Fourrier, C., Sampson, E., Hori, H., Schubert, K. O., Clark, S., Mills, N. T., & Baune, B. T. (2020). Exploratory study of association between blood immune markers and cognitive symptom severity in major depressive disorder: Stratification by body mass index status. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 88, 242-251.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1
    2020 Bensalem, J., Hattersley, K. J., Hein, L. K., Teong, X. T., Carosi, J. M., Hassiotis, S., . . . Sargeant, T. J. (2020). Measurement of autophagic flux in humans: an optimized method for blood samples. AUTOPHAGY, 18 pages.
    DOI WoS1
    2020 Mills, N. T., Sampson, E., Fourrier, C., & Baune, B. T. (2020). Clinical switching strategies of various antidepressants to Vortioxetine in the PREDDICT trial.. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 24(4), 314-321.
    DOI WoS1
    2020 Fourrier, C., Kropp, C., Aubert, A., Sauvant, J., Vaysse, C., Chardigny, J. M., . . . Castanon, N. (2020). Rapeseed oil fortified with micronutrients improves cognitive alterations associated with metabolic syndrome. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 84, 23-35.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC2
    2019 Fourrier, C., Bosch-Bouju, C., Boursereau, R., Sauvant, J., Aubert, A., Capuron, L., . . . Castanon, N. (2019). Brain tumor necrosis factor-alpha mediates anxiety-like behavior in a mouse model of severe obesity. BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY, 77, 25-36.
    DOI Scopus13 WoS11 Europe PMC3
    2019 Knight, M. J., Fourrier, C., Lyrtzis, E., Aboustate, N., Sampson, E., Hori, H., . . . Baune, B. T. (2019). Cognitive deficits in the THINC-integrated tool (THINC-it) are associated with psychosocial dysfunction in patients with major depressive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 80(1), 18m12472-1-18m12472-8.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS2 Europe PMC1
    2018 Fourrier, C., Sampson, E., Mills, N. T., & Baune, B. T. (2018). Anti-inflammatory treatment of depression: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of vortioxetine augmented with celecoxib or placebo. Trials, 19(1), 447-1-447-14.
    DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC5
    2017 de Cossío, L. F., Fourrier, C., Sauvant, J., Everard, A., Capuron, L., Cani, P. D., . . . Castanon, N. (2017). Impact of prebiotics on metabolic and behavioral alterations in a mouse model of metabolic syndrome. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 64, 33-49.
    DOI Scopus47 WoS40 Europe PMC24
    2017 Fourrier, C., Remus-Borel, J., Greenhalgh, A. D., Guichardant, M., Bernoud-Hubac, N., Lagarde, M., . . . Layé, S. (2017). Docosahexaenoic acid-containing choline phospholipid modulates LPS-induced neuroinflammation in vivo and in microglia in vitro. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 14(1), 1-13.
    DOI Scopus38 WoS37 Europe PMC18
    2014 Larrieu, T., Hilal, L. M., Fourrier, C., Sans N., Capuron, L., & Layé, S. (2014). Nutritional omega-3 modulates neuronal morphology in the prefrontal cortex along with depression-related behaviour through corticosterone secretion. Translational Psychiatry, 4(9), e437.
    DOI Scopus78 WoS66 Europe PMC35
    2014 Larrieu, T., Hilal, L. M., Fourrier, C., De Smedt-Peyrusse, V., Sans, N., Capuron, L., & Laye, S. (2014). Nutritional omega-3 modulates neuronal morphology in the prefrontal cortex along with depression-related behaviour through corticosterone secretion (vol 4, e437, 2014). TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY, 4(10), 1 page.
    DOI WoS2

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2019 Fourrier, C., Singhal, G., & Baune, B. T. (2019). Neuroinflammation and cognition across psychiatric conditions. In Unknown Book (Vol. 24, pp. 4-15). CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS.
    DOI Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC9
    2018 Fourrier, C., Capuron, L., & Castanon, N. (2018). Role of inflammation in neuropsychiatric comorbidity of obesity: Experimental and clinical evidence. In B. Baune (Ed.), Inflammation and Immunity in Depression: Basic Science and Clinical Applications (pp. 357-375). Elsevier.
    DOI Scopus1

  • Conference Items
    Year Citation
    2016 Castanon, N., Fourrier, C., Sauvant, J., Aubert, A., Joffre, C., & Layé, S. (2016). Effet d’une diète enrichie en acides gras polyinsaturés n-3 et en antioxydants sur les altérations émotionnelles et cognitives associées à l’obésité. Poster session presented at the meeting of Nutrition Clinique et Métabolisme. Elsevier BV.
    DOI
    2016 Fourrier, C., Bosch-Bouju, C., Sauvant, J., Aubert, A., Layé, S., Joffre, C., & Castanon, N. (2016). Abstract # 1806 Effect of an omega-3 and antioxidants supplemented diet on emotional and cognitive alterations and neuroinflammatory processes associated with obesity. Poster session presented at the meeting of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Elsevier BV.
    DOI
    2013 Larrieu, T., Hilal-Larrieu, M., Smedt-Peyrusse, V. D., Fourrier, C., Sans, N., Capuron, L., & Layé, S. (2013). SFN1 Étude du rôle des oméga-3 alimentaires dans les troubles de l’humeur : rôle de l’axe du stress. Poster session presented at the meeting of Nutrition Clinique et Métabolisme. Elsevier BV.
    DOI
    2013 Larrieu, T., Hilal-Larrieu, M., Smedt-Peyrusse, V. D., Fourrier, C., Sans, N., Capuron, L., & Layé, S. (2013). SFN1 Étude du rôle des oméga-3 alimentaires dans les troubles de l’humeur : rôle de l’axe du stress. Poster session presented at the meeting of Cahiers de Nutrition et de Diététique. Elsevier BV.
    DOI
  • 2021: Diabetes Australia (AUD59,640); Sargeant T., Bensalem J., Heilbronn L. and Fourrier C. (Co‑PI). “Characterising autophagic flux in response to dietary intervention: increasing cellular health in people at risk of diabetes”.
  • 2021 – 2024: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia. 2002608; Sargeant T., Bensalem J., Heilbronn L., Hopwood J., Proud C. and Fourrier C. (Associate Investigator). “Autophagy increases with age and obesity to protect against cellular damage and age-related disease”.
  • 2016: Société Française de Nutrition travel award to attend the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society annual scientific meeting in Brighton (United Kingdom) (800 €).
  • 2013-2016: Doctoral scholarship from Région Aquitaine and the INRA (Département de Nutrition Humaine; 22000763)
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  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2020 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Investigating the synergistic relationship between inflammation and autophagy in Alzheimer’s Disease South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Bachelor of Science (Advanced) Other Full Time Alayna Caruso
    2019 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Comparison of chloroquine-like molecules for lysosomal inhibition and measurement of autophagic flux in the brain South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Bachelor of Science Other Part Time Valerie Bryksin
    2017 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Analysis of symptomatic and biological changes in Major Depressive Disorder related to co-administered antidepressant and anti-inflammatory treatment The University of Adelaide — Doctorate Full Time Emma Sampson
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  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2021 - ongoing Member SAHMRI Biosafety Committee South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Australia
    2020 - ongoing Member SAHMRI Early- and Mid-Career Researchers Committee South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Australia

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2018 - 2019 Member Biological Psychiatry Australia Australia
    2017 - ongoing Member Psychology Health Forum Australia
    2014 - ongoing Member Neuroscience in Bordeaux Association France
    2012 - 2014 Board Member Neuroscience in Bordeaux Association France

  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2018 - ongoing Editor Editorial Board of Frontiers Psychiatry (Mood and Anxiety Disorders) Frontiers Psychiatry Switzerland
  • Position: Affiliate researcher
  • Phone: 83136928
  • Email: celia.fourrier@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences, floor 6
  • Org Unit: Adelaide Medical School
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