Behavioural and cellular pathophysiology in a rat model of SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency

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Here are the introductory comments: 

We are very excited to continue the SRF Syngap research fund webinar series. The goal of the series is:

• getting you closer to the science of SYNGAP
• make you aware of the research that is been done and the opportunities to participate
• empower your communications with clinicians as you get more clear knowledge of SYNGAP

We also want to give a plug for our next presentation “the first SYNGAP1 Scientific Conference in Spanish” which will take place on February 19 at 8 am EST.

Our talk for today is “Behavioural and cellular pathophysiology in a rat model of SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency”

I have the pleasure to introduce today’s speaker Dr. Peter Kind.

Professor Kind is Director of the Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain at the Patrick Wild Centre for Research into Autism, Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and Intellectual Disability and Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh. He is also Associate Director at the Centre for Brain Development and Repair (CBDR) at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (Instem), Bangalore, India. Professor Kind completed his postdoctoral training with Professor Colin Blakemore at Oxford University and Professor Susan Hockfield at Yale University. Professor Kind received his PhD from Oxford University in 1993. He joined the University of Edinburgh in 2020.

The Kind laboratory examines the cellular and circuit dysfunction associated with monogenic forms of moderate to severe neurodevelopmental disorders. The laboratory focuses on the development of synaptic function and how altered development leads to the circuit and behavioural phenotypes associated with rat and mouse models of these disorders. By comparing models with several different genetic alterations, we aim to determine whether distinct genetic causes of ID/ASD share common pathologies that may be amenable to similar therapeutic approaches. 

We are truly grateful for the work he has done and his interest in SYNGAP.