Members

Alessio Attardo, Ph.D. - Group Leader (CV)

I am a neurobiologist fascinated by how cells store and compute information. I am interested in how networks of neurons in the brain acquire and recall memories. After completing my undergraduate studies in biology I moved to the Max Planck Institute of Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden (Germany) for my Ph.D. There I described the lineage of progenitors that constitute the major source of neurons in the mammalian neocortex. As a postdoc at Stanford University I developed a novel chronic deep-brain optical imaging technique to study long-term plasticity of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus of live mice. Ihave investigated structural plasticity in hippocampal neurons as the cellular foundation of memory. I have also investigated how representations of experience in the hippocampus evolve during weeks and how the ability of such representations to discriminate different experiences declines with aging.

Hadi Mirzapourdelavar, Ph.D. - Postdoctoral fellow

I hold a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, with a specialization in the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying brain aging. Currently, I’m advancing my expertise as a postdoctoral researcher, focusing on developing innovative activity-dependent synaptic tagging technology suitable for in vivo deep brain imaging. My research is centered on understanding structural plasticity—the brain's remarkable ability to reshape neural connections in response to neuronal activity. By studying how synapses and dendritic structures adapt following neuronal activation, I seek to uncover fundamental principles of brain function and plasticity.

Leonid Fedorov Ph.D. - Postdoctoral fellow

I joined the A-Lab in Magdeburg after a Dr. Rer. Nat. in Neuroscience from University of Tübingen, and postdoctoral work in that town. Here I am interested in-vivo calcium activity of hippocampal cells and its changes over days. In the lab, I am happy to work with a team of experts in 1-photon and 2-photon imaging

Bhargavi Murthy - Ph.D. Student

I hold a Bachelor’s in Biotechnology, from India, and a Master’s in Neuroscience from the University of Ulm. After getting a taste of The A-Lab during my master thesis, I joined as a PhD student to investigate homeostatic plasticity in the dorsal hippocampal CA1, using deep brain two-photon optical imaging. I study how excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the CA1 respond to hypo- and hyperactivity. I am passionate about Science Communication and I am part of SoapBox Science and oher outreach activities by the MaxPlanck PhDNet. In my free time, you’ll find me trying DIYs for zero-waste and sustainable living.

Hannah Klimmt - Ph.D. Student

After my undergraduate studies in molecular medicine at the University of Tübingen, I decided to dive deeper into the fascinating field of neuroscience. I joined the A-Lab as PhD student to investigate the dynamics of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the CA1 underlying hippocampal-dependent learning. To track these connections over time I’m using in vivo two-photon imaging. Ultimately, I want to see if targeted genetic manipulation of projecting neurons to pyramidal neurons in CA1 could change its synaptic dynamics and memory recall.

Stefanos Somatakis - Ph.D. Student

My passion about understanding how memories are created and stored in the brain brought me back to the A-Lab, after having conducted my master’s thesis here. As a doctoral candidate, I am currently investigating how representations of spatial memories change in the hippocampus of mice over time. Using single-photon wide-field head-mounted miniaturized microscopes (miniscopes), I will be imaging Ca2+ traces in freely moving mice, in order to shed light on the role of activity of dorsal CA3 engram neurons on dorsal CA1 representational drift. I believe that the elucidation of mechanisms behind the formation and storage of memories can be helpful in the battle against neurodegenerative diseases.