Our Research

Our research team focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the multiple roles of morphogens during the nervous system development.

During embryonic development, the formation of the brain by the generation, differentiation and finally the precise connection of new neurons is controlled by many molecular factors. Amongst these factors, extracellular secreted molecules, called morphogens, instruct the shape of the nervous system. During neuronal differentiation, cells change from a proliferative state to acquire cell identity, to perform migration and finally to grow axons and connect to other cell types. Thus, cells need to change their responses to their environment to achieve the correct behavior. Our aim is to answer to the following question: how do morphogenic signals control distinct responses during neural development? Our research addresses fundamental questions on how a single (and then multiple) morphogenic signal(s) act at different steps of neuronal development to induce these different responses. We use the murine and human developing cerebral cortex as a model.

Website: ferentlab.fr

Experimental Approaches

Funding

Our research team is supported by INSERM, The ATIP-Avenir program, the Fyssen Foundation, the ARC and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

People

Julien Ferent, PhD, CRCN (INSERM), Principal Investigator

Sara Douceau, PhD, Post-doctoral fellow

Tanya Deutsch Guerrero, PhD student, Sorbonne University

Pauline Lestienne, Undergrade, Alumni

Hanna Kavaliova, Undergrade, Alumni

André Heilser, Undergrade, Alumni

Etienne Poidomani, Undergrade, Alumni