Research in Brain Cell Biology and Energy Metabolism

I completed a joint PhD thesis between the University of Strasbourg (France, specializing in Neuroscience) and the University of Basel (Switzerland, specializing in Pharmaceutical Sciences). The project was titled: 'Mitochondria, neurosteroids, and circadian rhythms: implications in health and disease states.' This joint PhD aimed to deepen our understanding of mitochondrial function regulation by identifying key factors, both endogenous and exogenous, critical in controlling mitochondrial bioenergetics and reduction/oxidation (redox) state. The results I obtained contribute to a better understanding of mitochondrial function and could have multiple implications regarding the regulation of metabolic homeostasis in health and disease states associated with mitochondrial impairments (e.g., in Alzheimer’s disease) and/or circadian disruption.

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After completing my first postdoctoral project in the laboratory of Prof. Anne Eckert at the University of Basel (Switzerland), I undertook a research stay abroad. I chose to work in the laboratory of Prof. Jürgen Götz at the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, an internationally renowned expert with significant expertise in modeling Alzheimer's disease in vivo, dissecting pathomechanisms, and developing therapeutic interventions. This international collaboration aimed to enhance our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease-related impairments, such as Tau protein aggregation and oxidative injuries, in neurodegeneration using state-of-the-art technology, including high-end microscopy techniques. By combining optogenetics with the use of fluorescent biosensors and photoactivatable green fluorescent protein, I demonstrated that neurons restrict the local increase in mitochondria-derived oxidative stress and the decrease in energy production to the damaged neuronal compartment by quarantining mitochondria.

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I am currently working as a junior group leader and conducting independent research at the Research Platform of Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences at the University of Basel. I am especially interested in further studying the role of neuronal mitochondria and brain bioenergetic metabolism in both healthy and diseased states. My research focuses on the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative disorders, particularly in Tau protein-related frontotemporal dementia. Our current projects aim to investigate intercellular mitochondria transfer between neurons and astrocytes.