Aging Brain Seminar with Sandra Siegert, PhD, Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Talk Title: From a by-stander to an influencer: How microglia alter brain infrastructures and influence neuronal activity
Abstract: Microglia, traditionally classified as immune-responsive, adjust synaptic connections during development and disease. However, their role in the adult nervous system has been mostly diminished to an observer. In my research group, we are interested in how microglia are involved in establishing and maintaining accurate neuronal circuit function in the retina and in the visual cortex. In my talk, I will introduce our first strategies how to decipher the microglia’s functional identity and how this information guided us to microglia enabled extracellular matrix remodeling and reinstatment of juvenile-like plasticity in the adult brain.
Sandra Siegert obtained her PhD in Neurobiology focusing on the molecular logic of retinal cell types at the FMI, Basel/Switzerland. From 2010-2015, she identified epigenetic factors impacting presynaptic release in the hippocampus as a postdoctoral fellow at MIT, Cambridge/MA, USA. In 2015, she joined Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) as Assistant Professor. Here, her independent research group focuses on microglia and how they modulate neuronal activity. She received several awards (SWISS OphthAWARD, Liese Prokop Prize) and funding (HFSP, SNSF, ERC Starting Grant).