Mike Kendig

Dr. Mike Kendig is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and an ARC DECRA Fellow. He holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Sydney and has held roles at UNSW Sydney and UTS since 2013. His research focuses on diet-cognition interactions, gut microbiota, and the long-term impacts of high-fat/sugar diets on behavior and cognitive function. He has secured over $900,000 in research funding from national and international bodies, including the Australian Research Council and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

Education:

• Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), University of Sydney
• Master of Science (2013), University of Sydney
• PhD in Psychology, University of Sydney (funded by Australian Postgraduate Award and Alumni Top-Up Scholarship)

Research Interests:

• Impact of dietary patterns on neurocognitive health
• Gut microbiota regulation of diet-cognition pathways
• Neuroinflammatory mechanisms in obesity
• Developmental origins of metabolic and cognitive disorders
• Translation of animal models to human health applications

Grants & Awards:

• ARC DECRA Fellowship (2023–2026)
• UTS Chancellor’s Research Fellowship (2022–2026)
• Young Investigator Award (ANZOS, 2022)
• BBRF Grant (2022) for adolescent binge-eating research

Lab & Collaboration: Leads the Kendig Lab within UTS’s Faculty of Science, focusing on translational research at the intersection of nutrition, neuroscience, and microbiology. Active in interdisciplinary collaborations across UTS’s Stroke Research Collaborative network.