Meet our Early Career Scientist Grant Winner Marie Labouesse
Marie is a post-doctoral researcher at Columbia University, New York, USA working in Christoph Kellendonk’s group. Her research focuses on understanding the neural circuits that regulate motor function and energy homeostasis. The Early Career Scientist grant will help to fund Marie’s Visiting Scientist appointment in Switzerland, at the University of Zurich.
I am honored and very grateful to receive this Early Career Scientist Grant. I will be able to travel to the University of Zurich (Patriarchi lab) from NYC with your help. During my stay, I will work on developing new biosensor approaches to measure dopamine release in the brain at high spatiotemporal resolution. Marie Labouesse, Columbia University, New York, USA, Hello Bio Early Career Scientist Grant winner
Congratulations Marie. First, can you tell us a bit more about what you're working on at the moment?
My current research focuses on understanding how specific circuits within the basal ganglia govern motor control. I use DREADDs, optogenetics and in vivo calcium imaging as my main research “go-to” tools. I plan to start my own research team in 2021 building on my current expertise in neural circuits and behavior. My goal is to look deeper into brain circuits involved in feeding and energy homeostasis, focusing on how these circuits are set up during postnatal development and how they might impact long-term risk for obesity or eating disorders.
What is it about your field of research that gets you most excited?
I love the logic of it. In this new field I joined for my postdoc, called “circuit neuroscience”, I can really manipulate particular neuron populations in the brain and see what exactly their role is in controlling behavior. It’s very rewarding.
Which scientists working today do you most admire, and why?
That’s a tricky question because there are so many. One person for sure is my sister, Celine Labouesse. She is a biophysicist working on the mechanical forces implicated in stem cell fate. I love hearing about her work.
What do you think are the biggest challenges currently facing life scientists and their work?
One of the biggest challenges for neuroscience is to translate some of the most important findings at the basic levels intro translational therapeutic applications for patients. There have been several technological breakthroughs in the past couple decades, at least in animal models, which hopefully can help towards this direction in the future. This includes the increasing ability of scientists to deliver large molecules/drugs through the blood-brain-barrier without side effects eg by using systemic AAV delivery or ultrasound technology. The ability to target specific neuronal populations or even receptor subtypes non-invasively will also be critical; using e.g. some groundbreaking technology currently in development such as chemogenetics or photopharmacology.
What’s your favorite science quote?
Trust science.
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Thank you so much Marie! We wish you all the best for your new appointment in Switzerland.
You can follow Marie on Twitter here: @LabouesseMarie
Click here to read about our past winners or why not apply for the grant yourself?
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