Cellular and Molecular Physiology of the Brain

The program provides the students with the theoretical and practical expertise to study the molecular, biochemical and physiological events underlying brain function in health and disease.

Research of the CMPB program aims at understanding how molecules, cellular compartments and cell types interact to mediate key events representing brain function, including (i) synapse formation, synaptic function and synaptic plasticity, (ii) neuron-glia interactions, (iii) neuronal development and aging (iv) neurodegenerative, neurological, and psychiatric diseases, (v) functional restoration after injury and in disease.

The program provides cutting-edge training in molecular/cellular neurobiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, large-scale omics-approaches, cell staining/imaging, electrophysiology, systems physiology, light and electron microscopy, and super-resolution microscopy. The program fosters interactions between students to facilitate the exchange of expertises and ideas. The overall goal of these efforts is to understand the molecular underpinnings of cellular function in the healthy brain, to elucidate how they change during aging and in disorders of the brain, and to test how functional deficits can be restored.