Contact Information

Phone: 1 212 263 7693
email: sousa@saturn.med.nyu.edu

06/2005-present - Postdoctorate in the lab of Dr. Gord Fishell
10/1999-10/2004 - PhD in the lab of Dr. Mathias Treier (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany) "The role of novel Gli-related transcription factors during mouse development"
08/1998-09/1999 - Training in Mouse Genetic Manipulation in the lab of Dr. Paulo Vieira (Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal)
10/1993-07/1998 - Licenciatura in Microbiology and Genetics (University of Lisbon, Portugal)

My interest consists mainly in applying mouse molecular genetics to study the transcriptional code that regulates the determination of specific interneuron cell types. The hedgehog signaling pathway has been shown to be required for the proper specification of cortical interneuron progenitors in the ventral telencephalon and for maintenance of their identity at later developmental ages. I am interested in defining the role of the transcriptional effectors that function downstream of hedgehog signaling in the determination of defined sets of interneuron cell types. Ultimately, comprehending how single interneuron types are originated will allow a better examination of the processes in which they function in the context of higher order neural networks and therefore, a better understanding of neurological diseases originated from a failure of interneuron function.