Translational Neuroscience

The research mission of the Department of Translational Neuroscience is to discover and delineate mechanisms and processes which are fundamental to the development of neural systems and to the control of behavior as well as to translate these to pathogenesis and disease models. We use cutting edge technology, disease models as well as computational tools to achieve these goals.

Our teaching mission is to raise the next generation scientists and clinicians with state-of-the-art knowledge, technical expertise and vision in the field of neuroscience. As a part of this effort, we teach in several Bachelor courses, coordinate the Neuroscience and Cognition master program of the Utrecht University and offer doctoral and postdoctoral training.

News

March 31, 2022 / Graduation, News

PhD defence of Andreia Duarte and Lieke van de Haar

Andreia Duarte, after the PhD defence

PhD defence is a special occasion celebrating not only the graduation of a student but also the society gaining a new highly trained specialist. Last week, Andreia Duarte and Lieke van de Haar of the Pasterkamp lab have defended their PhD thesis with two in-person PhD defences at the Academiegebouw of the Utrecht University.

In her work “The Road Less Travelled: Exploring the profile and functions of non-coding RNAs in brain disease, Andreia has explored how circRNAs and tRNAs may facilitate the brain’s response in medial Temporal lobe epilepsy. She has started her new position as an R&D scientist at the VectorY.

“It was a great closure of 4.5 years of work with lots of research, learning, travelling, fun, ending in such an unforgettable day.” Andreia

Lieke built her PhD on a combination of wet lab experiments and computational tools. Her thesis titled “Isles of Molecules” defines the Habenula development at a single cell level and a new mechanism of axonal guidance. We wish her best luck in her new position as a postdoc at the Rajewsky lab at MDC, Germany.

“ It was a great day to celebrate 4,5 years of work at the University Medical Center Utrecht. I very much enjoyed the scientific discussions and having colleagues, friends and family around.” Lieke

The work was performed at our Translational Neuroscience department of the UMC Brain Center. Photographs by Daniëlle van Rossum and Bart van Dijk

February 24, 2022 / News, Research paper

Single-cell profiling adult human neural stem cells

Neural stem cells (NSCs) of the subventricular zone (SVZ) remain mostly in a dormant state in the adult human brain after closure of the neurogenic period at birth. These dormant progenitors rarely proliferate or produce neurons. How an adult human NSC is maintained in this quiescent state and could be triggered to re-activate is still unclear.

Manipulating SFRP1 function

In this recent publication at Nature Communications, Vanessa Donega, Elly Hol and colleagues unravel a possible mechanism through which progenitors of the adult human SVZ are maintained in a dormant state. They used state-of-the-art single-cell RNA sequencing to profile the molecular characteristics of a major neural stem cell niche in the adult human brain. They identify the Wnt pathway antagonist SFRP1 as a possible signal that promotes neural stem cell quiescence in the aged human SVZ. Furthermore, they show that inhibition of SFRP1 stimulates neural stem cell activation both in vivo and in vitro. This work opens up future possibilities to stimulate neural stem cells of the human brain to promote repair.

“I am very happy that this work is out, and I am excited to continue investigating the role of SFRP1 in regulating neural stem cell quiescence.” Vanessa Donega

This work was performed primarily at our Translational Neuroscience department of the UMC Brain center. This work was supported by ZonMw, by the MAXOMOD consortium, a Ministry of Science and Technology of China grant, Theme-based Research Scheme, Health and Medical Research Fund and CUHK Direct Grant

February 16, 2022 / News, Research paper

Astrocyte function in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease on GLIA

Astrocytes are literally the star cells of our brains! PhD candidate Christiaan Huffels, from the group of Elly Hol, recently published a study on astrocyte function in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease in the scientific journal GLIA.

Alzheimer’s Disease is the main form of dementia in the elderly, characterised by the accumulation of amyloid-ß protein. In this study, Huffels and his colleagues examined the role of astrocyte function in Alzheimer’s Disease. They focused on Kir4.1 expression and function, which is an ion channel that is essential for the role of astrocytes in the maintenance of tissue ion homeostasis. Despite localised increase in Kir4.1 protein expression, astrocyte Kir4.1 channel dysfunction is likely not involved in the pathogenesis of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. This study hereby provides more in-depth insight into the development of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and provides directions for future research. After this study was accepted for publication, one of the images was selected for the cover of GLIA.

Christiaan was happily surprised: “I thought it was great that they asked me to provide an image for the cover and immediately agreed, as this can draw extra attention to the interesting study we performed.”

The research was primarily performed at our Translational Neuroscience Department at UMC Bran Center, in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam and University of Bonn. The study was supported by the University of Amsterdam, ZonMW, and Alzheimer Nederland.

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Vacancies

We welcome open applications from PhD candidates and postdocs.