The Institute for Physiological Chemistry (IPC) is one of the leading laboratories in the field of neuronal microRNA research worldwide. They identified the first brain-specific microRNA that is involved synaptic plasticity by regulating the size of neuronal dendritic spines (Schratt et al., Nature 2006). The IPC recently contributed to the identification of additional microRNAs and the underlying signaling mechanisms involved in neuroplasticity in the cortex, hippocampus and striatum (Fiore et al., 2009; Siegel et al., 2009; Saba et al., 2012). Prof. Schratt is a recipient of an ERC Starting Grant (NEUROMIR; microRNA function in homeostatic plasticity with implications for neuropsychiatric disorders) and coordinator of a Priority Program on “Emerging roles of non-coding RNAs in nervous system development, plasticity and disease” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Established key technologies at the IPC include high-resolution fluorescence confocal microscopy, intracerebral injection of recombinant adeno-associated virus in living rats/mice, electrophysiological recordings and the analysis of small RNA deep sequencing data. 

Social Media