Canadian Neuroscience Seminars – Post-doc series January 11: Josephine Robb, Roberta Piovesana and Xuming Yin

1) Title: Microglial adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) regulates neuroinflammation and diet-induced obesity

Speaker: Josephine Robb, University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre

Bio: Josephine is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Thierry Alquier at the University of Montreal (CRCHUM). Prior to starting this project, she completed her PhD at the University of Exeter in the UK. There she studied the role of the mitochondrial translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) in astrocyte metabolism, and how glucose metabolism and NF-kappaB signalling are interlinked in these cells. During her postdoctoral work she has continued to study the role of metabolism in inflammation. She now focuses on the role of lipid droplet dynamics in the inflammatory response of microglia and the implications of this system in whole body metabolism.

2) Title: Endocannabinoid CB1 receptor regulates neuromuscular junction denervation and reinnervation following nerve injury

Speaker: Roberta Piovesana, University of Montreal
Bio: Roberta Piovesana earned her Master’s in Medical Biotechnology and later PhD in Cellular and Developmental Biology at the Sapienza, University of Rome, and University of Manchester where she established adipose-derived stem cell models that led to the production of Schwann-like cells and their role in axonal support and plasticity. Dr. Piovesana is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Richard Robitaille’s lab in the Department of Neurosciences at the Université de Montréal. She is currently investigating the role of endocannabinoid CB1 receptors at the Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ) in the regulation of denervation and reinnervation processes following nerve injury. Moreover, Dr Piovesana is also an ALS scholar in Therapeutics program at the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) where she has been recognized for her work on NMJ and the identification of ALS biomarkers.

3) Title: Delayed motor learning in a 16p11.2 deletion mouse model of autism is rescued by locus coeruleus activation

Speaker: Xuming Yin, University of Ottawa
Bio: Dr. Xuming Yin completed his PhD at the University of Lyon in France, under the mentorship of Dr. Anne Didier, where he examined the regulation of noradrenaline on adult neurogenesis in the olfactory bulb during perceptual olfactory learning.  Presently, he is a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Simon Chen’s lab at the University of Ottawa.

His current research focus on unraveling the underlying mechanisms in  delayed motor learning using mouse models of  autism spectrum disorder (ASD).By employing cutting-edge two-photon imaging in awake and behaving mice, Dr. Yin revealed compelling insights into how noradrenaline plays a crucial role in regulating motor learning in the 16p11.2 microdeletion mouse model of ASD (Yin et al., Nat Neurosci, 2021). His work not only advances our understanding of ASD-related delayed motor learning but also holds promise for potential therapeutic interventions.