Glycocalyx is considered to be an essential factor in neural circuitry establishment and refinement during development, contributing to the formation of an exclusive human brain. This PhD study will aim to define the role of the glycocalyx in neuronal synapse formation, function, and remodeling. The PhD student will focus on the glycocalyx and its dynamics at the synaptic level, investigating developing synapses either in neuronal cultures or in neuron/glia co-cultures with a range of innovative tools with unprecedented specificity and imaging resolution. To investigate the glycocalyx and its dynamics in developing synapses, the student will use induced neuronal cultures differentiated from induced pluripotent cells and will label them with novel synaptic markers, using adeno-associated viruses as vectors for custom-designed neuron-specific labels. To investigate how the dynamics of glycocalyx contribute to the modulation of synaptic activity and vice versa, the student will modify neuronal activity with optogenetic and chemogenetic tools and will visualize them with electrophysiological and fluorescent imaging tools. This PhD study will reveal the interplay of mammalian glycocalyx with neuronal state and its dynamic changes upon the establishment of synaptic connections, the modulation of their activity, and their refinement to shape the mature circuitry.
Mokslinis vadovas / Supervisor: Prof. Urtė Neniškytė
Kontaktai / Contacts:
tel. / phone: +370 5 223 4437
Programme: Biochemistry N 004