Ricardo Marquez Gomez

Background

I studied Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology in Mexico focusing on studying how GPCRs interaction modulate neurotransmitter release. I translated this into my research in brain circuitry in mouse and cell models, focusing in studying how the brain develops and which steps lead to the appearance of mood disorders like depression, anxiety.

Studying the interplay between emotions and movement 

The basal ganglia is at the core of understanding how we integrate emotional inputs and transform them into a behavioural output. Understanding this interplay is crucial when studying mood disorders, which usually appear during development or early on in neurodegenerative disorders. A big limitation; these processes tend to be quiet, progressive and hard to detect in vivo. 

To open the door of understanding how this processes occur in the brain, I have developed a stem cell model of the striatum, which is the main input nucleus of the basal ganglia. The striatum has two main neurons that integrate information from other brain regions (e.g. cortex, midbrain, limbic system) and generate a behavioural output.

Using the stem cell technology, combined with microfluidics and 3D bioprinting, I generate miniaturised brain circuits that allow to speed up research and answer circuit based questions across time, using optical readouts of circuit function (GCamp, voltage sensors, opsins.) 

My current efforts are focused on studying the development of the cortical-striatal-dopamine circuit a pathway that is of the most importance when studying the onset and the early stages of Parkinson's disease.  

Using this microcircuits, we are looking at expression of G protein coupled receptors and how they modulate neuronal transmission in a human contexts. GPCRs represent around 50% of drug targets in the current market and are the responsible for the actions of neurmoduators like dopamine and serotonin.