Our work is a deep dive into the individual unit of the brain: the neuron. Our understanding of complex brains made of billions of neurons requires solid cellular foundations. Although neurons are champions of cell-cell communication, their inner working is not so well understood.
We aim to provide these solid cellular foundations in a simple circuit made of 302 neurons and ~7000 synapses in C. elegans. How proteins are moved to the appropriate location: sensory proteins to cilia, synaptic proteins to synapses? How postranslational changes in proteins alter neuron-to-neuron communication? Using concepts and techniques employed in cell biology, we tease the (sub)cellular mechanisms that power neuron-to-neuron communication in our brain.
Our lab is part of the of the Neurophysiology Lab , the ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI) of the University of Brussels (ULB)