Joint Symposium

- Institute of Biomedical Sciences/ Graduate Program of Morphological Sciences

- Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho/Graduate Programs of Biophysics &

- Australian Regenerative Institute

Rio de Janeiro, October 20-21, 2014

Auditorium of the Graduate Program of Morphological Sciences

CCS F01

Day 1 – Monday October 20

Session 1 – Morning Chair: Prof. Flávia Gomes 9:00 – 9:30 Introduction to ICB, IBCCF, ARMI 9:00 – 9:10 Professor Roberto Lent (ICB director) 9:10 – 9:20 Professor Sandra Maria Feliciano de Oliveira e Azevedo (IBCCF director) 9:20 – 9:30 Professor Peter Currie (ARMI deputy-director) Module of Cell Signaling and Development 9:30 – 9:55 Prof. Marcelo Einicker Lamas (IBCCF, UFRJ) Paracrine interaction between stem cells and kidney cells during ischemic injury: bioactive lipids, miRNAs and peptides as candidates for therapeutic protocols 9:55 – 10:20 Prof. José Garcia Abreu (ICB, ) Understanding Wnt during head formation and its deregulation in cancer 10:20 – 10:45 Dr. Edwina Mcglinn (ARMI, Australia) Regulation of Hox cluster output by microRNAs 10:45 – 11:00 Coffee break Module of Myogenesis and Regeneration 11:00 – 11:25 Prof. Peter Currie (ARMI, Australia) Modeling muscular dystrophy and stem cell recruitment in zebrafish 11:25 – 11:50 Prof. Manoel Costa (ICB, Brazil) Zebrafish myogenesis: from cytoskeleton and adhesion to the roles of cholesterol and rafts 11:50 – 12:15 Prof. Cláudia Mermelstein (ICB, Brazil) The role of lipid rafts during chick myogenesis 12:15 – 13:30 Lunch break

Session 2 – Afternoon Chairs: Dr. Milena Furtado/Prof. Jennifer Lowe Module of Heart Disease and Regeneration 13:30 – 13:55 Dr. Mirana Ramialison (ARMI, Australia) Deciphering cardiac gene regulatory networks 13:55 – 14:20 Dr. Mauro Costa (ARMI, Australia) Understanding genetic predisposition and risk factors for heart disease 14:20 – 14:45 Dr. Milena Furtado (ARMI, Australia) Cardiac transcriptional network and fibrosis in heart failure 14:45 – 15:10 Prof. Adriana Carvalho (IBCCF, Brazil) Cardiac differentiation of pluripotent stem cells 15:10 – 15:30 Coffee break Module of Development and Cell Reprogramming 15:30 – 15:55 Prof. Steven Rehen (ICB, Brazil) Reprogramming human cells to study mental disorders 15:55 – 16:20 Prof. Flávia Gomes (ICB, Brazil) Glial cells: wiring the functional brain 16:20 – 16:45 Prof. Jose Polo (ARMI, Australia) Stem cell reprogramming and epigenetic memory

Day 2 – Tuesday October 21

Free day for scientific discussions among interested parties. Students are also encouraged to approach speakers for informal scientific conversations.

Dr Mirana Ramialison Group leader Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Australia

Dr Ramialison takes a systems biology approach to uncover the gene regulatory networks that control gene expression during development, and identify aberrant/abnormal interactions that cause congenital diseases. Cutting-edge genome-wide scale interrogation techniques allow addressing organogenesis at a whole-systems level, and these technologies continue to revolutionize biomedical science. By taking advantage of these novel technologies, the Ramialison laboratory is developing and applying bioinformatics tools to advance our understanding of organogenesis in the field of “systems developmental biology” as defined by developmental biologist Jonathan Bard: “Systems developmental biology is an approach to the study of embryogenesis that attempts to analyze complex developmental processes through integrating the roles of their molecular, cellular, and tissue participants within a computational framework.” The laboratory is composed of a multidisciplinary team of computational and molecular biologists specialised in genomics approaches to study development and disease, by combining new high- throughput technologies and zebrafish as a model organism. Prior to joining the Australian Regenerative Institute in 2014, Dr Ramialison has worked at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Australia and ERATO, Japan. She received her Engineering degree from the University of Luminy, (2002), and PhD at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (2007), Germany. Dr Ramialison’s selected publications include: Nguyen et al, Nature, 2014; Medioni et al, Current Biology, 2014; Harden et al, Developmental Dynamics, 2012; Ramialison et al, Development, 2012; Haudry, Ramialison et al, Nature Protocols 2010; .Ramialison et al, Genome Biology 2008 and Henrich, Ramialison et al, Bioinformatics 2005.

Address: The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Clayton campus Wellington road, Building 75, level 1 VIC 3800, Australia Telephone: (61-3) 99029645

Homepage: http://www.armi.org.au/Research1/Research_Groups/Ramialison_Group.aspx

Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ramialison_lab

Professor Stevens Rehen Lab Head, National Laboratory of Embryonic Stem Cell (LANCE-UFRJ) Head of Research, D’Or Institute for Research and Education Institute of Biomedical Sciences Federal University of (UFRJ), Brazil

Professor Rehen received his BSc (1994), MSc (1996) and PhD (2000) degrees in Biological Sciences from UFRJ, performed his post-doctoral training in at the University of California, USA (2003) and The Scripps Research Institute, USA (2005). He is currently a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) and of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), among other affiliations. Professor Rehen is a pioneer in human embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell research in Brazil. His laboratory is part of the eight Centers for Cellular Technology from the National Network of Cellular Therapy – Ministry of Health. Professor Rehen’s research is primarily focused on the use of human induced pluripotent stem cell differentiated as neuroprogenitor cells and minibrains to study the roles of oxidative stress and atomic element imbalance in mental disorders. Some of Professor Rehen’s recent publications include Paulsen et al, Schizophrenia Research, 2014; Correa et al, Stem Cell Research, 2013; Stutz et al, Journal of Neurochemistry, 2013; Paulsen et al, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 2013; Stelling et al, Glycobiology, 2013 and Marinho et al, Tissue Engineering, 2013. He is also actively engaged in the dissemination of stem cell research throughout the Brazilian community, participating in periodical commentaries of ‘Ciência Hoje’ magazine and scientific interviews on ‘Globo News’ TV channel.

Address: Rua Diniz Cordeiro, 30 – 3º andar CEP: 22281-100 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil Telephone: (55-21) 3883 6000 Homepage: http://www.lance-ufrj.org Email: [email protected]

Assoc Professor Jose Polo Group Leader Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Australia

The Polo laboratory is interested in the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms that govern cell identity, in particular pluripotency and the reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Being able to reprogram any specific mature cellular program into a pluripotent state and from there back into any other particular cellular program provides a unique tool to dissect the molecular and cellular events that permit the conversion of one cell type to another. Moreover, iPS cells and the reprogramming technology are of great interest in pharmaceutical and clinical settings, since the technology can be use to generate animal and cellular models for the study of various diseases as well in the future to provide specific patient tailor made cells for their use in cellular replacement therapies. However, despite being one of the major growing research fields very little is known about the epigenetic and transcriptome changes occurring during this process. Assoc Professor Polo graduated as a Biochemist from the University of Buenos Aires (2000), undertook his PhD studies at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA (2008) and further post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School, USA prior to joining Monash University in 2011. He has received prestigious awards in Australia and internationally, including the National Cancer Center (USA) Fellowship (2005), the MGH-ECOR award (2009), the Metcalf Prize from the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia (2014), Dean's Award for Excellence in Research (2014), the Tall Poppy Award (2013) and the Silvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation Senior Research Fellowship (2013). Some of Assoc Professor Polo’s recent publications include: Firas et al, Differentiation, 2014; Hobbs and Polo, Cell Stem Cell, 2014; Hatzi et al, Cell Reports, 2013; Apostolou et al, Cell Stem Cell, 2014; Polo et al, Cell, 2012 and Polo et al, Nature Biotechnology, 2010.

Address: The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University Clayton Campus Clayton, Victoria 3800 Australia Telephone: (61-3) 99050005 Homepage: http://www.armi.org.au/About_Us/Staff/Jose_Polo.aspx Email: [email protected]

Dr Edwina McGlinn Group Leader, EMBL Australia Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Australia

The McGlinn lab focuses on microRNA regulatory control of Hox cluster expression dynamics. The miR-196 family of miRNAs (196a1, 196a2 and 196b) is located within Hox clusters and are predicted to regulate the expression of up to 10 Hox genes. As such, they have the potential to impact on the diverse developmental and homeostatic processes that are know to be orchestrated by Hox gene function. Over the last 3 years, Dr McGlinn has built a vast array of genetic tools in mouse, including straight knockout lines, GFP knock-in lines, and a conditional overexpression system with which to assess the function of this evolutionarily conserved miRNA family. She complements this work with experimental manipulation of Hox- embedded miRNA levels in zebrafish and amphioxus, allowing her to probe how miRNA acquisition shapes lineage specific Hox output. Some of the current research interests of the McGlinn lab are the role of miR-196 in controlling vertebral number and identity, the role of Hox-embedded microRNAs in neural patterning and lineage specific regulation of Hox output by microRNAs.

Before joining ARMI as an EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory Group Leader, Dr McGlinn obtained her PhD degree from the University of Queensland (2004) and held the position of Research Fellow in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School (2010). Some of Dr McGlinn’s selected publications include: Vonk et al, PNAS, 2013; Allen et al, Developmental Biology, 2013, Hu et al, Genes and Development, 2012; McGlinn et al, Developmental Cell, 2009 and McGlinn et al, PNAS, 2009.

Address:

The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Clayton campus Wellington road, Building 75, level 1 VIC 3800, Australia Telephone: (61-3) 99029721

Homepage: http://www.armi.org.au/Research1/Research_Groups/McGlinn_Group.aspx

Email: [email protected]

Professor Peter Currie Group Leader Deputy Director Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Australia

Professor Currie received his PhD in Drosophila genetics from Syracuse University, USA. He undertook postdoctoral training in zebrafish development at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research), UK. He has worked as a laboratory head at the UK Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, UK and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Australia where he headed a research programme focused on skeletal muscle development and regeneration. In 2008 he was appointed Deputy Director of ARMI. He is a recipient of the European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigators Award and the Wellcome Trust International Research Fellowship. Prof Currie currently holds a senior research fellowship with the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia. Professor Currie’s work is centred on understanding how the small freshwater zebrafish is able to build and regenerate both skeletal and cardiac muscle. A combination of genetic and embryological amenability has placed zebrafish at the forefront of attempts to understand how genes function to control vertebrate development and evolution. In particular, his group is interested in how specific muscle cell types are determined within the developing embryo. He has also established zebrafish as a model system in which to study the molecular and cellular basis of muscular dystrophy.mMore recently his laboratory has begun to work on the ability on the molecular basis of spinal cord regeneration in Zebrafish. Some of Professor Currie’s recent publications are Nguyen et al, Nature, 2014; Goldshmit et al, Journal of , 2012 ; Nguyen-Chi et al, PLoS Genetics, 2012; Sztal et al, Human Molecular Genetics, 2012 and Cole et al, PLoS Biology,2011.

Address: The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Clayton campus Wellington road, Building 75, level 1 VIC 3800, Australia Telephone: (61-3) 99029602 Homepage: http://www.armi.org.au/About_Us/Staff/Peter_Currie.aspx Email: [email protected]

Professor Claudia Mermelstein Group Leader, Laboratory of Muscle Differentiation and Cytoskeleton Institute of Biomedical Sciences Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Prof Mermelstein obtained her BSc (1985), MSc (1989) and PhD (1992) degrees in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She undertook postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, USA (2002) and holds an appointment as Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences from 1994. Prof Mermelstein is an expert in cell biology, focusing on skeletal muscle differentiation. Her current research interests involve the role of lipid rafts during myoblast adhesion and fusion, using the chick embryo as a model organism. Some of Prof Mermelstein’s recent publications include: Abrunhosa et al, Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 2014; Possidonio et al, BMC Genomics, 2014; Possidonio et al, Plos One, 2014; Filgueiras et al, Plos One, 2013; Soares et al, Plos One, 2012 and Portilho et al, Eur J Pharmacol, 2014.

Address: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Bloco F – Sala F2-019 Av. Carlos Chagas Filho 373 Ilha do Fundão – CEP: 21949-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Telephone: (55-21) 3938-6429

Homepage: http://www.icb.ufrj.br/Pesquisa/Laboratorios/Laboratorio-de-Diferenciacao- Muscular-e-Citoesqueleto-170

Email: [email protected]

Dr Milena Bastos Furtado Senior Research Officer Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Australia

Dr Furtado is an independent investigator in the Rosenthal lab, where she leads research on fibrosis and heart failure. She is an expert in developmental biology, focusing on cardiac transcriptional networks. Dr Furtado has worked as a PRODOC post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Brazil (2010) and at the University of Toronto (2010). She received her BSc degree in Biological Sciences from the State University of North Fluminense, Brazil (1997), MSc degree in Physiology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2001) and her PhD degree in Medicine from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Australia (2008). She has held the prestigious National Heart Foundation scholarship for her PhD studies. Since joining my laboratory at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute in 2011, Dr. Furtado has become fascinated by the genetics of the non-myocyte components of the heart. She recently published a landmark paper on cardiac fibroblasts, and is well on her way to rewriting the textbooks on the relationship between so-called cardiac stem cells and fibroblasts, which look alarmingly similar. Following this seminal study, Dr. Furtado has now expanded her research interests to the epigenetic memory of cardiac fibroblasts and the role of the transcriptional network she has uncovered in heart development, homeostasis and disease. Some of Dr. Furtado’s recent publications include: Furtado et al, Circulation Research, 2014; Medley et al, PLos One, 2013; Biasoli et al, Cell Death and Disease, 2013; Costa et al, Circulation Cardiovascular Genetics, 2013 and Lopes Floro et al, Human Molecular Genetics, 2011.

Address: The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Clayton campus Wellington Road, Building 75, level 1 VIC 3800, Australia Telephone: (61-3) 99029647 Homepage: http://www.armi.org.au/Research1/Research_Groups/Rosenthal_Group.aspx

Email: [email protected]

Dr Mauro Weyne Costa Senior Research Officer Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Australia

Dr Costa’s research focuses in the study of how cardiac transcription factors control heart development, homeostasis and disease. His current project involves the dissection of how genetic predisposition affects progression of cardiovascular disease associated with high risk factors, such as high blood pressure, ischemia and obesity. Dr Costa’s work uses mouse genetic models with a large array of state of the art technologies in molecular and cellular biology, and heart function. His main project uses a knock-in mouse model containing a novel mutation in the master cardiac regulatory gene NKX2-5 that was found in patients displaying cardiac malformations and conduction defects over 3 generations.

Dr Costa undertook his BSc and MSc in Genetics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1988, 1991). His PhD work was performed at the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, USA (1996). He also held several postdoctoral appointments, including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA; the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Australia; and the University of Toronto, Canada. From 1996 until 2011, he was Associate Professor at the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho at UFRJ, Brazil. In 2011, Dr Costa joined Prof Rosenthal’s group to develop the study on the role of cardiac transcriptional networks in heart development, homeostasis and disease models, a project currently funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. He is an independent fellow in the Rosenthal Group. He has extensive expertise in the fields of Genetics, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with special emphasis in cardiac transcription networks in development and disease.

Some of Dr Costa’s selected publications include: Furtado et al, Circulation Research 2014; Medley et al, PLoS One 2013, Costa MW, et al. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, 2013; Kaur G, Nature Communications 2013 and Silva et al, Experimental & Clinical Cardiology 2012.

Address: The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Monash University, Clayton campus Wellington road, Building 75, level 1 VIC 3800, Australia Telephone: (61-3) 99029647 Homepage: http://www.armi.org.au/Research1/Research_Groups/Rosenthal_Group.aspx

Email: [email protected]

Professor Marcelo Einicker Lamas Group Leader, Laboratory of Biomembranes Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Prof Lamas graduated in Biological Sciences at the College Celso Lisboa Federation (1989), received his MSc (1994) and PhD (1999) degrees in Cell and Molecular Biology at the Foundation. Prof Lamas is currently a Level 2 CNPq fellow and a ‘ of Our State’ (FAPERJ). He is experienced in Biophysics, with emphasis in Cell Signalling Systems, acting on the following themes: ion transport, bioactive lipids, lipid kinases, biological membranes, cell signalling. At present, Prof Lamas exploits the assumption that the primary mechanism of action of stem cells during repair is the release of these bioactive molecules in the region of the lesion modulating processes involved with the recovery such as cell proliferation, cell death and necrosis, differentiation, migration and remodelling of extracellular matrix components. To advance in this field of research is necessary to understand the processes involved during the interaction between stem cells and cells of the injured tissue where we want to apply the cell therapy. Thus, his lab has focused his studies on understanding the mechanisms of paracrine interaction between stem cells and kidney cells, imagining that it is a cross-talk where the injured tissue cell sends warning signals to stem cells that further translate these to produce and release the bioactive molecules locally for repair. This release can be direct or via microvesicles containing bioactive lipids beyond other molecules such as miRNAs, peptides, sugars, etc. Identifying signalling pathways modulated in the process of injury/repair by these bioactive molecules is his biggest goal right now. Some of Prof. Lamas recent publications include: Lindoso et al, Stem Cells and Development, 2014; Fusco et al, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2014; Figueira et al, Acta Physiologica, 2014 and Silva et al, PLos One, 2014.

Address: Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 CCS, Bloco G, Sala G1-037 Rio de Janeiro – RJ, CEP: 21941-902, Brasil Telephone: (55-21) 3938-6520 Homepage: http://www.biof.ufrj.br/en/pesquisa/physiology/biomembranes/ Email: [email protected]

Professor Adriana Bastos Carvalho Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Professor Carvalho obtained her MD PhD degree at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2008) and undertook post-doctoral studies at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School, USA (2009), the Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Brazil (2010) and the University of Toronto (2013). Prof. Carvalho’s current research interests revolve around the understanding of cardiovascular diseases and heart remodeling, with particular focus on cardiac differentiation from stem cells. She believes that cell therapy constitutes a promising strategy to halt and/or reverse the progression of heart failure. Taking into account the reports that adult stem cell activity occurs essentially through paracrine mechanisms, pluripotent stem cells become even more prominent in the scenario of translational research. These populations have a high replicative potential and can differentiate into any cell type of the three germ layers. Several research groups have been performing cardiac differentiation of these cells in vitro, however, the final stage of maturation has not yet been achieved. Dr Carvalho is currently studying the role of miRNAs in the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into functionally mature cardiomyocytes, as well as their potential role in myocardial remodelling following myocardial infarction, and subsequent progression to heart failure. Professor Carvalho’s recent selected publications include Asensi et al, Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 2014; Figueira et al, Acta Physiologica, 2014; Santos et al, Cell Medicine, 2014; Passipieri et al, Stem Cell Research and Therapy, 2014 and Alves et al, Bioscience Journal, 2013.

Address:

Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 CCS, Bloco G, Sala G1-053 Rio de Janeiro – RJ, CEP: 21941-902, Brasil Telephone: (55-21) 25626559 Homepage: http://www.biof.ufrj.br/en/pesquisa/terapy/cardiology/

Email: [email protected]

Professor José Garcia Abreu Júnior Group leader, Laboratory of Vertebrate Embryology Institute of Biomedical Sciences Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Prof Garcia obtained his BSc (1990) degree from the Faculty of Humanities Pedro II, followed by his MSc (1993) and PhD (1998) studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He undertook postdoctoral training at the University of California, USA (2002) as a Latin American PEW fellow, and Children’s Hospital – Harvard Medical School, USA (2010). He holds an appointment as Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences from 2008. Prof. Garcia is currently adjunct director of undergraduate studies at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences and coordinator of the UNESCO chair for studies in Developmental Biology. Prof Garcia is an expert in developmental biology of vertebrates, focusing on the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling embryonic axes formation, as well as the development of the nervous system. Using Xenopus and zebrafish as model organisms, his current research interests also involve the role of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in embryonic development and cancer. Some of Prof Garcia’s recent publications include: Lima et al, Infection and Immunity, 2014; Amado et al, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2014; Aguiar et al, Cancer Cell International, 2014; Cerqueira et al, Developmental Biology, 2014; Amado et al, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, 2013; Romão et al, Plos One, 2013 and Kim et al, Science, 2013.

Address: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Av. Carlos Chagas Filho S/N Ilha do Fundão – CEP:21949-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Telephone: (55-21) 39386486 Homepage: http://www.icb.ufrj.br/Pesquisa/Laboratorios/Laboratorio-de-Embriologia-dos- Vertebrados-171?uid=55 Email: [email protected]

Professor Manoel Luis Costa Group leader, Laboratory of Muscle Differentiation and Cytoskeleton Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Prof Costa obtained his BSc (1982), MSc (1986) and PhD (1991) degrees from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with Profs Carlos Chagas Filho (UFRJ) and Howard Holtzer (University of Pennsylvania). He undertook postdoctoral training at Fiocruz, Brazil (1993) and the University of Pennsylvania, USA (2001) and holds an appointment as Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences from 1993. He is currently the coordinator of the undergraduate program of Cell and Developmental Biology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences and manager of the zebrafish facility. Prof Costa’s current research interests include the study of muscle cell differentiation through the analysis of cytoskeletal and adhesion proteins. His research focus on zebrafish, both embryonic and adult, but he also studies myogenesis in chicken muscle cultures. He is an expert in optical microscopy imaging and analysis, particularly in three-dimensional and live methods. Some of Professor Costa’s recent publications include: Costa, ISRN Developmental Biology, 2014; Possidonio et al, BMC Genomics, 2014; Araujo et al, Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2014; Possidonio et al, Plos One, 2014; Filgueiras et al, Plos One, 2013 and Abrunhosa et al, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 2013.

Address: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Bloco F – Sala F2-19 Av. Carlos Chagas Filho S/N Ilha do Fundão – CEP: 21949-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Telephone: (55-21) 39386429 Homepage: http://www.histo.ufrj.br/LabMus/ Email: [email protected]

Professor Flávia Carvalho Alcantara Gomes Group leader, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology Institute of Biomedical Sciences Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Professor Gomes obtained her BSc degree in Biological Sciences at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ, 1991), followed by a MSc from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel (1994). Next, she obtained a PhD degree in Neurosciences from UFRJ (1999), followed by sabbatical periods at Université VII (2001), France, and at the Scripps Research Institute, USA (2004). Currently, she holds an appointment as Full Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences/UFRJ. She is also member of the Directory of the Brazilian Society of Cell Biology, the Council of the International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN), the Brazilian Academy of Science and the National Institute of Translational Neuroscience. Among her various academy activities, Professor Gomes is currently the coordinator of the Graduate Program of Morphological Sciences and also coordinates the Institute of Glia (iGLIA), a South American network for the study of glial cells and associated pathologies. Professor Gomes has a longstanding interest in neurobiology. Her main research lines focus on neuron-glia interactions, glial differentiation, the role of glial cells in synapse formation and on the effect of thyroid hormone and growth factors in neural development, homeostasis and disease. Some of Professor Gomes’s recent publications include: Diniz et al, Glia, 2014; Moraes et al, Molecular Neurobiology, 2014; Dezonne et al, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2013 and Diniz et al, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012.

Address: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Bloco F – Sala F15 Av. Carlos Chagas Filho S/N Ilha do Fundão – CEP: 21949-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Telephone: (55-21) 3938-6463 Homepage: http://www.icb.ufrj.br/Pesquisa/Laboratorios/Laboratorio-de-Neurobiologia- Celular-195 Email: [email protected]