Dr. Sandra Blaess from the Department of Reconstructive Neurobiology, Life & Brain Center of the University of Bonn, and associate Member of the SFB1089 has been awarded a prestigious Heisenberg-Stipend of the DFG. The award will support her work for up to five years.
„I am very happy about this honor, which allows me to continue my work in Bonn with a more long-term perspective“, says Dr. Sandra Blaess. The neurobiologist is working on dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, which control movement, reward-related behavior and information transfer. „Impaired function in the dopaminergic system are highly relevant for common brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, ADHD or schizophrenia“, says Dr. Blaess.
Dopaminergic neurons are diverse
It has remained unclear how a relatively small number of dopaminergic cells can modulate diverse functions in different brain regions. It is becoming apparent, however, that dopaminergic neurons are diverse, with different subgroups likely subserving different functions. Sandra Blaess is interested in using a developmental approach towards uncovering how functional subgroups are formed during development, and then how they acquire their specific tasks in the adult CNS.
Sandra Blaess studied molecular biology in Basel, and subsequently obtained her Ph.D. there. She performed several years of research as a postdoc at the New York University School of Medicine und the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (USA). Subsequently, she won a prestigious junior group funding from the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, and chose to locate her group at Department of Reconstructive Neurobiology in Bonn.
The SFB1089 congratulates her on this wonderful achievement.
Contact:
Privatdozentin Dr. Sandra Blaess
Institut für Rekonstruktive Neurobiologie
Zentrum Life & Brain
Universität Bonn
Tel. 0228/6885540
E-Mail: sandra.blaess@uni-bonn.de