Ph.D. (2016-2021). Ph.D. thesis title: Expression patterns of Acid -Sensing Ion channels in primary sensory neurons
After completing my MSc by Research in Integrative Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, I decided to continue my studies and expand my research experience and knowledge at Université Laval.
I start working on my research projects within YDK lab in January 2016. I changed the focus of my research from structural brain imaging (MRI) and computational genomics in psychiatric disorders (MScR thesis) to fundamental neuroscience.
During my PhD thesis I am investigating the expression pattern of Acid-Sensing Ion channels (ASICs) in mouse primary sensory neurons within lumbar Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) under normal and pathological conditions (induction of peripheral nerve injury using the cuff model). I am performing a combination of fluorescence in-situ hybridization (RNAscope) to target different ASIC subunits and immunohistochemistry to identify specific neuronal subpopulations.
In parallel to my PhD, I conducted an MBA focusing on Global Business and I wrote for PLoS ECR Blog while one of my articles has been featured in Nature Career Column. If you are interested, check the links below:
https://ecrcommunity.plos.org/author/melina-papalampropoulou-tsiridou/
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01292-x
Techniques:
Immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, cellular imaging, signal analysis, behavioral experiments, preclinical studies, qPCR, in-situ hybridization, single neuron morphology, in vitro experiments