08 Abril | OPEN SCIENCE Seminar | Dra. Monica Sousa “The Power of exceptions- How to regenerate the spinal cord in mammals”

Biosketch: Dr. Monica M Sousa graduated in Biochemistry and holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Porto. During her PhD she studied the biology of an aggregation-prone protein that induces axon degeneration. As a postdoctoral fellow, Monica worked at Columbia University- New York, where she studied signaling cascades mediating neurodegeneration caused by amyloid fibrils. Since 2008, Monica leads the Nerve Regeneration group at the i3S, University of Porto. Her group is focused on characterizing pathways that control axon growth during development, and regeneration following injury. In this respect, the Sousa group has recently found that the spiny mouse is a unique exception to mammals being able to spontaneously regenerate the spinal cord.