Postdoc Appreciation Week - University of Oxford
Join us for this special event organised by DPAG’s Researcher Society as part of National Postdoc Appreciation Week (#NPAW2022) with Pint of Science and Proteintech who will provide refreshments and goody bags!

There will be the opportunity to take semi-professional profile pictures from 3:30-4pm, followed by scientific talks from 4pm. This will be followed by pizza, drinks, networking and another opportunity for semi-professional pictures. The event will conclude at 6pm.

At 4pm, Dr Ricardo Marquez Gomez will deliver “A synaptic-hub in the limbic system could help to better understand anxiety-related disorders”

Social anxiety is a trigger for neurological disorders such as Tourette’s syndrome (TS) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which are commonly diagnosed during early life/youth. However, the connection between anxiety and the motor symptoms of the disorders is poorly understood. My research has aimed to better understand this connection, finding novel a histamine synaptic-hub in a region highly related to social anxiety and control of feeding habits. My results propose a novel neuromodulatory connection among brain regions implicated in anxiety and movement during early life, that could help to put the pieces of TS/OCD puzzle together and propose early interventional therapies young TS/OCD patients.

He will be followed by Dr Helena Rodríguez Caro who will deliver “Understanding genomic regulation of endothelial cell identity during embryogenesis: Focus on NFAT Transcription Factors”

Endothelial cells (ECs) constitute the inner lining of the cardiovascular system which is the first layer to form. During development, differential gene expression leads to distinct EC subpopulations which are essential for the creation of the hierarchically branched vascular system as we know it (arteries, veins, capillaries and endocardium). The role of the NFAT family of transcription factors in the regulation of the distinct EC subpopulations remains largely unexplored; with the majority of the research focused only in the heart. My research aims to elucidate the role of NFAT transcription factors and NFAT-bound enhancers in the regulation of venous and lymphatic EC subtypes. During this short-talk I will introduce a potential novel role for NFAT transcription factors in venous ECs and discuss some of the methods used.

Please register for free in advance at: pintofscience.co.uk/event/paw-oxford
Date: 22 September 2022, 15:30 (Thursday, -2nd week, Michaelmas 2022)
Venue: Sherrington Library, off Parks Road OX1 3PT
Speakers: Dr Ricardo Marquez Gomez (DPAG, University of Oxford), Dr Helena Rodríguez Caro (DPAG, IDRM, University of Oxford)
Organising department: Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG)
Organiser: Dr Susann Bruche (DPAG, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: susann.bruche@dpag.ox.ac.uk
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/paw-oxford
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Talitha Smith