Exeter Neuroscience Seminar Series

16:00  Valentina Brambilla

HtrA1 as a new player in neuronal plasticity

Valentina studied Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Milan. Three years ago she started her PhD program at the University of Exeter. She is investigating the role of extracellular proteases in psychological stress and anxiety. She is focusing on HtrA1 as a novel molecule involved in stress-induced neuronal plasticity. In her research, she takes advantage of various methods of molecular and behavioural biology.

16:20  Dr Joana Viana

Profiling epigenetic changes in schizophrenia and antipsychotic medication exposure

Joana has a BSc in Cell and Molecular Biology from Lisbon, an MSc in Neuroscience from KCL and completed her PhD at the University of Exeter on epigenetic and gene expression changes associated with schizophrenia diagnosis, schizophrenia polygenic risk burden and exposure to antipsychotic medication. She is currently investigating epigenomic, transcriptomic and regulatory changes associated with genetic burden and environmental risk factors in neuropsychiatric diseases including conduct disorder and aggression as part of the EU-funded MATRICS project.

16:40  Dr Edgar Buhl

Setting the clock: Light and temperature entrainment in Drosophila

Edgar studied biology in Germany and did his PhD in Leipzig with Paul Stevenson on the activation of the locust flight CPG in 2008. He worked in Bristol as a post-doc with Alan Roberts and Steve Soffe on sensory integration and decision making in the swimming initiation of Xenopus tadpoles. In 2013 he moved to the Medical School in Bristol to the lab of James Hodge to develop a combined electrophysiological/ optogenetic approach to study the circadian system of flies. He joined Exeter Medical School in August 2016 and is setting up a lab here to continue these studies.

17:00   Reception – snack buffet

SAVE THE DATE

The next neuroscience research seminar will be 14 March, 2017.

Please email Ellie Pickering (e.pickering@exeter.ac.uk) to attend or have your name added to the Neuroscience Research distribution list.