You are kindly invited to the Meet the jury lecture: ‘a Synapse mini-Symposium by prof. Ana Luisa Carvalho and Mrs Fekrije Selimi’
Ana Luisa Carvalho, CNC-University of Coimbra
“MicroRNA-mediated control of synaptic transmission and neuronal network activity in chronic stress“
Fekrije Selimi, CIRB – Collège de France
“Synapse-specific rules control the development of neuronal networks”
Livestream available: https://livestream.kuleuven.be/ Pin 224672
What are the molecular basis of neuronal connectivity and synaptic activity?
In this mini symposium, Ana Luisa Carvalho will present how microRNAs can act as fine-tuners of synaptic function, potentially altering neural circuitry in response to prolonged stress, and highlighting the intricate molecular pathways involved in this regulation.
Fekrije Selimi will focus on the diverse molecular signals and rules that determine synaptic specificity, which is essential for the proper wiring of the brain, elucidating how distinct types of synapses are formed and maintained.
Together, these talks offer a comprehensive overview of the dynamic processes involved in synaptic function and network formation, from the molecular level to the network level, and discuss how these processes are affected by environmental factors such as stress.
This symposium will provide a platform for discussing new strategies to better understand and potentially address neurological and psychiatric disorders associated with synaptic dysfunction and network dysregulation.
About the speakers
Ana Luisa Carvalho obtained a PhD at the University of Coimbra, in a collaborative project with the laboratory of Richard Huganir at the Johns Hopkins University, USA. After a research stay at the University of British Columbia, she returned to the University of Coimbra, where in 2009 she opened the Laboratory of Synapse Biology. Ana Luisa Carvalho is now Associate Professor and group leader at the CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal. The aim of her research is to uncover cellular and molecular mechanisms at the basis of neuronal excitability and synaptic function, and how they are impaired in brain diseases.
Fekrije Selimi was trained as a PhD student at the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris in the laboratory of Pr. Jean Mariani and as a HFSP post-doctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University in New York in the laboratory of Pr. Nathaniel Heintz. She is team leader at the CIRB-Collège de France since January 2011 and CNRS Research Director. Using the Cerebellum as a model, she is studying the molecular players involved in synaptic specification, and the role of activity in synapse development.
Contact info: Gabriele<dot>Marcassa<at>kuleuven<dot>be
