S.Croizier (previously Ambizione in BT’s lab) was awarded a Cloëtta funding of her position for 5 years as junior Group Leader at the CIG.
The CIG warmly congratulates her and wish her all the best in this new project!

Further information on the research S.Croizier will lead in her lab:

The overweight and obesity pandemics and associated diseases such as type 2 diabetes, are major public health concerns. Whereas a small proportion of obesity is explained by genetics, we are now facing a dramatic increase of cases of obesity inherent to environmental alteration. Among those, access to palatable food and daily anxiety play an indisputable role in the development of obesity, particularly in women. In this context, the prevalence of obese women of childbearing age dramatically increased. Alarmingly, epidemiological and rodent studies pointed out a role of the maternal environment alteration in the development of metabolic diseases in children and offspring. Surprisingly, while our knowledge on the control of feeding has largely expanded over the last decades, our anatomical and functional understanding of how alteration of maternal environment affects this behavior and leads to obesity remains elusive.

As the hypothalamus is a key region controlling feeding behaviors, we seek to further characterize the factors orchestrating the hypothalamic feeding-circuit wiring. The formation of functional neuronal networks relies on axon growth and synaptogenesis developmental processes mainly driven by members of four guidance protein families. In the laboratory, we are focusing our interests in identifying molecules underlying the excitatory and inhibitory synapse formation and plasticity on key hypothalamic neurons, and in deciphering how alteration of maternal environment impairs these developmental processes.

To accomplish this innovative research program, we employ cutting-edge techniques such as optogenetics, calcium imaging and super-resolution microscopy in parallel with physiological, behavioral and neurodevelopmental approaches.

Further information on the Max Cloëtta grants: https://www.cloetta-foundation.ch/en/