NCMD Research Seminar Series 2nd October 2026

NCMD Research Seminar Series 2nd October 2026

Autonomic and Metabolic Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Health and Epilepsy: Insights from Wearable and Glucose Monitoring.

Presented by Dr Amparo Güemes, Assistant Professor, Bioelectronic Systems, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge; Fellow, Pembroke College, Royal Academy of Engineering; Rosetrees Trust Research Fellow The vagus nerve plays a central role in the autonomic regulation of cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic processes, and is an established therapeutic target for neurological disorders such as epilepsy. However, the specific effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on glucose regulation remain inconsistent, with outcomes varying depending on the stimulation modality, participant population, stimulation protocol, and fibre recruitment direction. In this talk, I will present two studies that leverage wearable sensors and continuous glucose monitoring to 
investigate the metabolic effects of VNS: one conducted in healthy adults, and the other in individuals with epilepsy. 

In the first study, healthy adults (n=26) underwent short-term non-invasive ultrasonic auricular vagus nerve stimulation in a sham controlled crossover design. Short term glucose and heart rate changes were not significant, but overnight trajectory modelling revealed a consistent, statistically robust effect across the study population: nights following active stimulation diverged from each participant's own sham reference pattern in glucose, heart rate, and heart rate variability alike. 

The second study followed people (n=4) with epilepsy already using implantable vagus nerve stimulation clinically, examining wearable and glucose data around meals, stimulation dates, and seizures over a 7-month trial. Here, no consistent population level pattern emerged. Physiological responses varied meaningfully by participant, and individual heterogeneity, rather than a shared signal, was the defining feature of the real-world data. Together, the studies draw a clear contrast. Controlled experimental conditions produced a 
reliable population level effect of vagal stimulation, while free living clinical monitoring instead revealed how differently each person's physiology responds. Both outcomes carry implications for how wearable driven neuromodulation research should be designed and interpreted going forward. 

Dr Amparo Güemes is an Assistant Professor in Bioelectronic Systems in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Pembroke College, and a Royal Academy of Engineering and Rosetrees Trust Research Fellow. She received a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, followed by an MSc in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London. Her doctoral research focused on mathematical modelling of the neural regulation of glucose homeostasis and included research internships at Johns Hopkins University investigating the effects of neural 
stimulation on blood glucose dynamics.

Following her postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge's Bioelectronics Laboratory, Dr Güemes established the Neuro Metabolic Control Systems (NeuMeC) Lab, where she leads interdisciplinary research at the interface of neurotechnology, bioelectronics and metabolic control. Her work has been recognised through several prestigious fellowships and awards, including the Rafael del Pino Excellence Scholarship, the 1851 Research Fellowship, the L’Oréal-UNESCO UK and Ireland For Women in Science Rising Talent Award, and a Beloe Fellowship from the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers.

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