In The Media

New insights into how the brain rewires after early sensory loss. A new paper from the Molnár Group has shed light on substantial rewiring of corticothalamic connections that is triggered by early sensory loss during development. The study has identified a new mechanism that significantly rearranges the cortico-thalamo-cortical circuits but has not been considered before in patients with sensory loss for potential therapies.
A department-wide image competition has yielded a range of stunning images showcasing the diversity and breadth of DPAG's science. Congratulations to DPhil student Florina Szabo of the Molnár Group on winning the first prize, to postdoctoral fellow Dr Richard Tyser of the Srinivas Group on winning second prize, and to DPhil student Judy Sayers of the Riley Group on winning third prize. Their pictures will be framed and displayed in the Department.
New book expands the horizons of brain research. A pioneering book Body, Brain, Behavior Three Views and a Conversation from Professor Zoltán Molnár and Yale Professors Tamas Horvath and Joy Hirsch to be released on 1 February 2022 addresses the fundamental relationship between the body, brain and behaviour.
Cortex may regulate the need for sleep. Why we sleep, and the processes behind sleep, are amongst the most interesting questions in modern neuroscience. Researchers at the University of Oxford, including DPAG's Molnár and Vyazovskiy group scientists, have now uncovered a new target for sleep investigations within the mammalian brain – the cerebral cortex. The paper, first authored by Dr Lukas Krone, was published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Preclinical Medicine Undergraduate students Thomas Henning, Ivan Jim Paul and Owen Sweeney have helped Oxford build on last year to achieve the University's best ever performance in The National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition. Preparation for their successful participation was assisted by DPAG's Professor Zoltán Molnár, Dr Michael Gilder and Samuel Snowdon.
A new study from the Molnár group on the role of regulated synaptic vesicular release in specialised synapse formation has made it to the cover of Cerebral Cortex.
Prepared by Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, St John’s College and Oxford Neuroscience, Anatomical Society to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Thomas Willis’ birthday on the 27th January 2021. Interviews: Erica Charters, Alastair Buchan, Alastair Compston, Chrystalina Antoniades, Kevin Talbot, Milos Judas, Petra Hofmann, Iain Pears. Lectures and Videos: Prof Alastair Compston – “Dr Thomas Willis’s works: ‘the most learned Christopher Wren and the inward dens of the Brain” (16th June 2011), Stuart Panter – Thomas Willis’ Works Rooms at Oxford, Zoltán Molnár – Opening of the European University for Brain and Technology – Neurotech EU, 16 Dec 2020, Zoltán Molnár – Thomas Willis (1621-1675) 400th Anniversary Lecture, Anatomical Society Winter Meeting, 8th January 2021, Online exhibition at St John’s College (opened on 12 January 2021).
Lukas Krone to represent University of Oxford at the Global Young Scientist Summit 2021.
As the brain develops, it does not simply get bigger. Like a building that depends on temporary scaffolds as its structures are assembled, the developing brain sets up the circuits that characterize the adult brain. Molnár, Luhmann and Kanold review the current state of knowledge about how brain connections are built and how autonomously established patterns are reshaped by activity from the sensory periphery. With the help of a transient population of neurons, the spontaneous activity of early circuits is molded by increasing inputs from the external world. When these normal developmental interactions are disrupted, consequent miswiring drives dysfunction in the adult brain (DPAG News, Oxford Neuroscience)
Einstein Visiting Fellowship awarded to Zoltán Molnár. Professor Zoltán Molnár has been awarded an Einstein Visiting Fellowship to Charité - University Medicine, Berlin. This award sees him join the dynamic Oxford | Berlin collaboration, a strategic research partnership that supports high quality joint research initiatives across all disciplines of its member institutions, of which Neuroscience is a major focus. He will be working with the research group run by Professor Britta Eickholt, Director of Institute and Director of Centrum and Group Leader Signaling mechanisms in brain development and disease. Read more on Berlin University Alliance, Cluster of excellence NeuroCure, Oxford Centre in Berlin, Einstein Foundation, and Einstein Center for Neurosciences of the Charité.
Oxford Martin School Program on 3D Printing for Brain Repair. A team of Oxford University scientists, comprising DPAG’s Zoltán Molnár and Francis Szele, the Department of Chemistry’s Hagan Bayley and Oxford Martin Fellow Dr Linna Zhou, are proposing a radical new approach funded by the Oxford Martin School: repairing the brain with 3D-printed neural tissues that are generated from human stem cells. Read the interview with Prof Szele and Molnár on DPAG News.
Pre-clinical Medicine Undergraduate students Kacper Kurzyp, Rafee Ahmed and Oliver Bredemeyer achieved Oxford University's best ever performance in The National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition at the University of Southampton. Their participation was sponsored by DPAG with Professor Zoltán Molnár and Departmental Lecturer Dr Michael Gilder providing extra tuition to prepare them for their successful performances.
Congratulations to one of the longest standing laboratory member Dr Anna Hoerder-Suabedissen who has been conferred the title of Departmental Lecturer in recognition of her high achievement in both research and teaching for the Department.
Malnutrition linked with increased risk of Zika birth defects. The severity of Zika virus-related deformations in babies has been shown to be affected by environmental factors such as maternal nutrition. The study was partially funded by a joint MRC Grant between Professor Zoltán Molnár and Associate Professor Patricia Garcez of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Read more on the University of Oxford website).
Zoltán Molnár has been Elected Member of Academia Europaea (Physiology and neuroscience), he was inducted during the Annual Meeting of the Academia Europaea entitled “Building Bridges 2019” in Barcelona.
Zoltán Molnár was elected to deliver the 2019 Ray Guillery Lecture at the Grossman Institute of Neuroscience at University of Chicago. (DPAG News, St John's College News)
Zoltán Molnár has edited a special symposium issue of Journal of Anatomy with Dr Gavin Clowry from the University of Newcastle on Human Brain Development. (DPAG News)
History of neuroscience paper gives new insights into Cajal's interactions with Sherrington and the Croonian Lecture. (DPAG News)
Cortex Club celebrates 10 years of student-run talks and discussions for Oxford's neuroscience community with Abishek Banerjee, Dennis Kätzel and Zoltán Molnár as founding members. (DPAG News)
Lukas Krone from Vyazovskiy, Ackerman and Molnár Laboratories wins the Cambridge Neuroscience Seminar Poster Prize (DPAG News)
Professor Zoltán Molnár elected Fellow of the Anatomical Society and received “The New Fellow of the Year Award" in 2018 (DPAG News)
Researchers from across the Oxford Neuroscience Community pulled out all the stops for the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival (Oxford Neuroscience News)
The BBC visited Zoltán Molnár to discuss the research undertaken by Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, during his time in the Laboratory of Physiology, as part of a new series on 'How the NHS Changed our World' (DPAG News)
Mathematical modelling of cerebral cortical neurogenesis, joint project between St John's College, Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology and Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics. News releases Neuroscience news, The Daily Galaxy, Eurekalert, Medicalexpress, Techexplorists.
Taste and Smell Workshop at DPAG and St John's College Research Centre by Professor Laura López-Mascaraque (Cajal Institute Madrid) organised by the Cortex Club and Molnár Lab.
Major differences in early brain development between mammals and birds were revealed by Fernando Garcia-Moreno and colleagues that could explain the origin of mammalian cerebral cortex (DPAG News).
Brain Diaries Exhibition Opened at Natural History Museum on 10th March 2017 and shall be open until 1st January 2018. OX Magazine published an interview with Zoltán Molnár about what we can expect from the exhibition and why it is well worth a visit.
Oxford University deploying three research projects to fight Zika virus. Research has been funded by the UK Government through Globa Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund and by the Wellcome Trust.
The latest investigations on the development of the dorsal forebrain in chick and mouse embryos showed a delay in the neurogenic properties of a subset of mammalian but not avian progenitors and could be responsible for the evolutionary origin of the corpus callosum. Link to paper and to HFSP news release.
Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Shanghai Jiao Tong University and University of Oxford to strengthen collaborations in the field of Developmental Genetics and Biology.
OxfordSparks public understanding of movement control video using original histological preparations prepared by Sir Charles Sherrington
Interviews on the "Evolution of the Human Neocortex: How Unique Are We?" The Company of Biologists workshop Wiston House, Steyning, West Sussex, UK, September 2013.
Unexpected origin of the subplate neurons (DPAG News, ABC.es, Madrimasd.org, Informaria Digital, elmercuriodigital.es)
Oxford - McGill Mini Symposium (McGill's Brain Institute)
CLoNe new tool to track cell lineages (HFSP, theNODE, DPAG news, Oxford Neuroscience News)
Subplate cells express susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and autism (Time, Science Daily, Oxford Neuroscience, GenEng News, ENN, Scicasts, MedicalXpress, myScience, sify news)
Mapping gene expression in layers of mouse brain (SFARI, Oxford University News, Daily Mail)
Comparison of mouse and chick brain transcriptomes (HFSP, DPAG NEWS)
New Theories on the Origin of Cerebral Cortical Convolutions (HFSP)
History of Medical Sciences Website (Sociedad Española de Neurociencia)
Exhibition: 'Revelaing the Brain' (The Oxford Times, Oxford Neuroscience, Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, Oxford Neuroscience)
The Oxford/HBI Summer Student Exchange scheme (Oxford Neuroscience)
The first Fung Scholars in the Molnár lab (DPAG NEWS)