Ana I. Domingos

Ana I. Domingos is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford's Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, where she serves as Tutor of Medicine at Lady Margaret Hall and is recognized as an OUI Innovation Champion. Her research focuses on exploring the neurobiological basis of obesity, with particular emphasis on sympathetic neural networks and their role in fat metabolism.

Her academic journey began with undergraduate studies in Mathematics in Lisbon and Paris, followed by PhD work at Rockefeller University studying olfactory neuroscience with Leslie Vosshall. She then completed postdoctoral work with Jeffrey Friedman before establishing her first laboratory at the Gulbenkian Institute, where her research in sympathetic neurobiology began, four years prior to moving to Oxford in 2018.

Domingos has pioneered the field of Neuroimmunometabolism, making groundbreaking discoveries including sympathetic neurons in adipose tissue (Cell, 2015), sympathetic neuron-associated macrophages (SAMs) (Nature Medicine, 2017), and the concept of 'sympathofacilitator' drugs for obesity treatment (Cell Metabolism, 2020). Her most recent work includes identifying sympathetic neuron-derived Neuropeptide Y's role in protecting against obesity (Nature, 2024) and discovering 'Big Autofluorescent Lipid-Laden' (BALL) macrophages that regulate glucocorticoid production.

• EMBO installation award (2014)
• Human Frontiers Science Program Young Investigator Award (2015)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Welcome International Research Scholar Award (2017)
• ERC-Consolidator Award (2019)
• Pfizer Aspire Obesity Award (2022)
• Carl Ludwig Distinguished Lecture Award (2023)

Domingos has been instrumental in advancing the field through editorial work as editor-in-chief of AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism and serving on the advisory board of Cell Metabolism. She has organized major conferences including the Keystone Symposium on Neuroimmunometabolism (2022) and has been a plenary speaker at over 80 international conferences in the last decade. Her lab continues to investigate the complex interactions between the nervous system, immune system, and metabolic processes with implications for obesity treatment.