Inspiring Scientific Curiosity and Discovery

The Quest for Neuronal Identity: A Journey Unveiled

Speaker: Dr. Paolo Forni, University at Albany, State University of New York

The nose constantly senses the environment, and specialized olfactory and chemosensory systems have evolved allowing different species to decipher their specific living environments. The olfactory sensory epithelia enables organisms to detect molecules in their environment and transmits signals to the brain, but how does it recognize such a wide spectrum of stimuli? The answer lies in neuronal composition and molecular diversity.

Dr. Forni seeks to discover the mechanisms that drive the establishment and maintenance of neuronal identity during the formation and regeneration of olfactory epithelia and to understand the pathogenesis of human pathologies.