Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences (SPPIN)

Deciphering the role of Importins Nuclear Transport Factors in CNS Functions and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Nicolas Panayotis is a Molecular Neurobiologist. He studied Neurobiology and Behavior at the Aix-Marseille University and obtained a Ph.D. in Medical Genetics at the Marseille Medical Genetics center (Inserm-MMG), under the direction of Dr. Jean-Christophe Roux. There he investigated the MeCP2-deficient mouse model for Rett Syndrome, a devastating genetic neurodevelopmental disorder.

He joined the group of Prof. Mike Fainzilber at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel for his postdoc and Senior Internship from 2012 to 2023. His goal was to decipher the roles of the importin family of nuclear transport factors in mouse behaviors and neuronal pathways. Using a comprehensive battery of approaches from behavior to molecular mechanisms, his research shed light on the roles for importin α5 in the regulation of anxiety via control of nuclear shuttling of MeCP2 and of other importins and transcription factors in pain and memory.

Nicolas recently launched a new group at the Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences (SPPIN) of the CNRS. He will present his main research achievements and will outline planned future directions of his lab in the study of the basic rules of importin α-MeCP2’s interaction and transport dynamics using behavioral analyses, imaging of MeCP2 nuclear shuttling, and testing how modulation of MeCP2 transport can help to rescue phenotypes associated with MeCP2-related disorders such as Rett and MeCP2 duplication syndromes.

Invité par Guy Bouvier