NEURAL DIFFERENTIATION

RESEARCH

The functioning of the CNS relies on the proper activity of thousands of neuronal circuitries that are established during embryonic development. Setting up these circuitries requires acquisition of a specific neuronal identity, migration of differentiating neurons to a defined location within the nervous system and establishment of proper connections with target cells. Destruction of these circuitries as a result of tissue injury or neurodegenerative disorder results in functional impairment of the nervous system.
However, cellular and molecular mechanisms that participate in neural development are reactivated in response to neural injury, suggestive of a possible strategy to restrain deleterious outcomes or to repair injured neural tissue. The goal of our research projects is to characterize molecular and cellular mechanisms that control neuronal differentiation, migration and maintenance during embryonic development and to determine whether these mechanisms may be instrumental in treating lesions of the CNS.

The current projects are:

· Diversification of ventral interneuron populations in the developing spinal cord.
Onecut factors control the development of ventral interneurons.
Onecut factors control the development of dorsal interneurons.
Identification of a novel population of ventral spinal interneurons.
Onecut factors regulate final reorganization of the Purkinje cells in postnatal cerebellum development.

Website: http://sites.uclouvain.be/nedi

TEAM

Principal Investigator

Frédéric CLOTMAN, PhD, Head of Unit

Postdoctorate fellow

PhD students

Audrey HARRIS, PhD Student
Karolina UWANTEGE KABAYIZA, PhD Student
Stephanie DEBRULLE, PhD Student
Gauhar MASGUTOVA, PhD Student
Mathilde TOCH, PhD Student
Morgane BOZET, PhD Student

Technical and administrative staff

Vincent RUCCHIN, Technician
Romelia DE JESUS CARVAJAL USUGA, Technician
Cathy FRIAND, Administrative Assistant

COLLABORATIONS

National collaborations

Dr Fadel TISSIR, Université catholique de Louvain (Brussels, Belgium)
Dr Emmanuel HERMANS, Université catholique de Louvain (Brussels, Belgium)
Dr Bernard KNOOPS, Université catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)
Dr Philippe GAILLY, Université catholique de Louvain (Brussels, Belgium)
Dr Eric BELLEFROID, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Gosselies, Belgium)
Dr Pascal-Kienlen CAMPARD, Unviersité Catholique de Louvain (Brussels, Belgium)

International collaborations

Dr Martyn GOULDING, Salk Institute (La Jolla, USA)
Dr Andrea HUBER, Helmholtz Zentrum (Munich, Germany)
Dr Stavros MALAS, University of Nicosia (Nicosia, Cyprus)
Dr Carlos PARRAS, CRICM (Paris, France)
Dr Pascal LEGENDRE, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris, France)
Dr Robert CHOW, University of Victoria (Victoria, Canada)
Dr Mengqing XIANG, UMDNJ (Piscataway, USA)