My lab is interested in understanding how neurons in the brain wire up to form functional circuits that remain stable over time. A single neuron will receive thousands of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs that need to be well balanced to allow the brain to process information in a stable manner. We are particularly interested in uncovering the rules that allow neurons to form synapses with each other during brain development, as well as the mechanisms employed to stabilise brain activity during this highly dynamic period.

We believe our work can contribute to a broad understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as epilepsy, autism, and schizophrenia. I am Programme Coordinator of the Department of Developmental Neurobiology and a member of the Medical Research Council Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

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Find out more about my research:

Development of functional neuronal networks

Key publications:

• Pan-Vazquez et al., 2020. Activity-Dependent Plasticity of Axo-axonic Synapses at the Axon Initial Segment. Neuron.
• Denaxa et al., 2018. Modulation of Apoptosis Controls Inhibitory Interneuron Number in the Cortex. Cell Reports.
• Grillo et al., 2018. A distance-dependent distribution in presynaptic structure and function tunes frequency-dependent dendritic integration. Neuron.
• Walker et al., 2017. A distance-dependent gradient in NMDAR-driven spine calcium signals along tapering dendrites. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.
• Wefelmeyer et al., 2015  Activity-dependent mismatch between axo-axonic synapses and the axon initial segment controls neuronal output. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.

Key collaborators:

• Professor Roland Fleck, King's College London
• Professor Angus Kirkland, Oxford University
• Dr Adil Khan, King's College London
• Dr Ivo Lieberam, King's College London