TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
POSTDOCS
Victor Vargas Barroso
Postdoc (since 2017)
IST Fellow
Research Area
I am doing in vitro octuple recordings in rat and mouse acute brain slices. One goal is to elucidate the connectivity rules and plasticity mechanisms of the CA3-CA1 synapse. I am also beginning to study the connectivity of new born granule cells, focusing primarily on their afferent/efferent connections with neurons of the Hilus.
JAKE WATSON
POSTDOC (SINCE 2020)
Research Area
I am studying the mechanisms of information processing in the hippocampal CA3 area. Using multicellular whole-cell recordings, I am determining the arrangement of microcircuit connectivity amongst individual CA3 cells, and how the unique properties of each synaptic connection contributes to processing and storage of neuronal activity.
Katharina Lichter
Postdoc (Since 2022)
Research Area
I am studying presynaptic transmission in the hippocampal CA3 and dentate gyrus area on a nanoscale. Using functional electron tomography (flash-and-freeze), simulations and patch-clamp electrophysiology, I am determining the structure-function relationships of synaptic plasticity in presynaptic active zones of both excitatory and inhibitory nerve cells and how these temporally and spatially orchestrate synaptic transmission with nanometer resolution.
Andrea Claudia Navas Olive
Postdoc (since 2023)
Research Area
My main research question is why neurons connect the way they do and how these connections enable the brain’s specific computations. I’m focusing on the hippocampus, especially the CA3 region, the brain’s largest auto-associative network. To explore this, I’m building a full-scale model and using machine learning techniques to understand what are the specific connectivity patterns that optimize memory storage.
PhD STUDENTS
Silvia Jamrichova
PhD Student (SINCE 2020)
Research Area
“I am studying the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity at hippocampal mossy fiber synapse. Specifically, I would like to determine the identity and affinity of the putative calcium sensors for both synchronous and asynchronous neurotransmitter release at this synapse. To address these questions I am using a subcellular patch-clamp technique that allows me to simultaneously record from mossy fiber boutons and CA3 pyramidal cells at a unitary level.”
Peipeng Lin
PhD Student (since 2020)
Research area
My research focuses on the study of synaptic transmission between mossy fibre and pyramidal neuron in hippocampal CA3, by recording simultaneously from the pre-synaptic bouton and the post-synaptic pyramidal cell.
Rebecca morse
PhD Student (since 2021)
Research area
My research focuses on determining the role cellular heterogeneity and development play in defining the hippocampal CA3 circuit architecture. I am combining multicellular patch-clamp recordings, high-resolution microscopy and sequencing to better understand the underlying mechanisms in memory storage and retrieval.