Team - TiHo Hannover

Labormitglieder

Prof. Dr. Markus Rothermel

Universitätsprofessor

Markus.Rothermel@tiho-hannover.de
+49 511 856-7758

Video-Reihe "MyScience"
Video "25. Faculty Club-Treffen"

curriculum vitae

PD Dr. Michael Stern

Privatdozent

Michael.Stern@tiho-hannover.de
+49 511 953-7767

Research Interests

As an insect neurobiologist, I am interested in structural and functional neuronal plasticity of the insect nervous system.
The nervous system is able to respond and adapt to a large variety of external factors during development and adult life, like environmental changes, injury, infection, or toxins, in order to ensure survival and reproduction of the animal. I am interested in the role of neuromodulatory transmitters in these adaptation processes, with a focus on biogenic amines (serotonin and octopamine), and the unusual gaseous transmitter nitric oxide (NO).

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Dr. Daniela Brunert

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Daniela.Brunert@tiho-hannover.de
+49 511 856-7753

Saime Tan

Biologielaborantin

Saime.Tan@tiho-hannover.de
+49 511 856-7757
+49 511 856-7752 (mobile Labornummer)

Jennifer Bauer

Ph.D. Student

Jennifer.Bauer@tiho-hannover.de
+49 511 856-7755

Research Interests

"Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy"
Nearly 20% of children with DravetSyndrome, a rare, drug-resistant form of epilepsy, die before the age of 20 years. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of death in these patients and has been postulated to result from failure of autonomic centers, caused by or closely following epileptic activity in cortical and limbic networks. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms of how epileptic activity in these brain centers influences brainstem function remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that in epileptic mice, the interactions between cortical/limbic networks and the brainstem are critically altered. Thereby, a sudden death induced by seizure activity in these mice becomes more likely, mimicking the situation in patients suffering from Dravet syndrome. This project's“big leap” is aimed at understanding 1) where and 2) how epileptic activity in cortical/limbic areas impairs brainstem function leading to SUDEP. 1) Where: we hypothesize that hotspots exist within cortical/limbic systems serving as initial triggers for downstream respiratory disturbances in epileptic mice. 2) How: we hypothesize that long-distance neuronal projections or slower processes based on alternative non-synaptic pathways (e.g. underlying Cortical Spreading Depression) might be the underlying mechanisms.