
Arbeitsgruppenleiterin
Prof. Dr. med. vet. Franziska Richter Assencio
Institut für Pharmakologie, Toxikologie und Pharmazie
Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule
Bünteweg 17
30559 Hannover
Email
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter:innen
Dr. Malte Feja
Neurobiologist with expertise in animal models of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson’s disease, epilepsies, addiction, and impulse control disorders.
Earned his doctorate at the University of Bremen and joined Prof. Richter’s group in 2020. Previous postdoctoral associations at FU Berlin, SUNY Buffalo, NY, USA, and TiHo Hannover (Gernert group) addressed pharmacological approaches to treat pharmacoresistent epilepsies and modulate the endocannabinoid influence on reward- and drug-seeking, chemogenetic tools to unravel the implication of mesolimbic GABA projections in motivation and addiction, and telemetric monitoring of neurophysiological parameters, e.g., thermoregulation.
Goal is further disentangle the physiology and pathophysiology of basal ganglia circuits in order to explore new therapeutic drugs for neurological diseases including epilepsies and Parkinson’s disease.
Current projects:
- Effects of brain penetrating drugs on neuronal dysfunction in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease
- Targeted drug microinfusion into the subthalamic nucleus as a therapeutic strategy for epilepsy
Methods:
- Animal models for Parkinson’s disease, seizures and epilepsy
- Behavioral pharmacology
- Intracerebral pharmacological interventions
- Behavioral phenotyping of mice and rats
- Immunohistochemical analysis
Christopher Käufer, Ph.D.
Rebecca Kotzur, Ph.D.
Dr. med. vet. Maria Antonia Joseph, Ph.D.
Since 2024
Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, group of Prof. Dr. Richter-Assêncio
2021-2024
PhD studies in the PhD program “Systems Neuroscience” about “Transcriptomic profiling of the hippocampus and frontal cortex in the context of cognitive dysfunction in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy and Parkinson's disease” at the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, group of Prof. Dr. Richter-Assêncio, and the SMATHERIA gGmbH – Non-Profit Biomedical Research Institute
2020-2021
Doctoral studies on “Intrathecal application of antisense oligonucleotides and Adeno-associated viruses in SMA mice” at the Institute of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology, Hannover Medical School in the group of Prof. Dr. Peter Claus
2014-2020
Studies in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover
Research interests:
- Cognitive dysfunctions in Spinal muscular atrophy and the underlying molecular mechanisms regarding potential treatment targets
- Testing pharmacological interventions for Parkinson’s disease in mouse models
Methodes:
- Oxford Nanopore Sequencing
- Molecular biological methods (e.g. Oxford Nanopore Sequencing)
- In vitro and in vivo models for Spinal muscular atrophy and Parkinson’s disease
- Stereotactic surgery
- Behavioral studies in mice
Doktorand:innen und Ph.D.-Student:innen
- Leonie Baldauf, Tierärztin
- Isabell Drath, Tierärztin
- Diana Voitsekhovch, Tierärztin
- Kristina Lau, Tierärztin
- Daniela Zalpanow, Biologin
- Sandra Weiß, Biologin
Master Student:innen
- Juliette Bieligk
Weitere Mitarbeiter:innen
- Ivo Wiesweg
- Martina Gramer, CTA
- Silas Staats, Feinwerkmechaniker
- Sonja Stelz, Biologielaborantin
- Andrea Ofner, LTA
- Pia Hollasch, Biologielaborantin