Animal Physiology and Molecular Biomedicine



Albino tadpoles

Olfactory System Research

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Formation

The olfactory system has the unusual capacity to generate new neurons throughout the lifetime of an organism. This allows to study stem cell function and the regulation of neurogenesis in the developing and adult olfactory system. We investigate how newly generated olfactory neurons integrate into the existing olfactory circuitry. Thereby, we are particularly interested in how axons of olfactory receptor neurons find their way to the correct target areas in the olfactory bulb, the wiring of the network, and how the formation of new synapses in glomeruli is regulated.

Glomerulus

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Function

We investigate general functional properties of the sense of smell. Fluorescent microscopy and electrophysiological tools are applied to measure cellular activity in both the olfactory epithelium and the forebrain. This allows to investigate the cellular machinery necessary for odorant detection & modulation and the general principles of odor mapping & processing in the brain. We also would like to understand why during evolution, olfactory systems show a tendency to seggregate into distinct, specialized subsystems.

Olfactory bulb calcium imaging

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Regeneration

The olfactory system with its unique strengths is a useful tool to study the different steps in the maturation and regeneration of neurons on a molecular, cellular and functional level. We aim to understand the mechanisms that regulate olfactory neurogenesis during normal tissue maintenance and under repair conditions. The knowledge created as the result of basic research is likely to assist medical treatment and the development of new therapies targeted at replacement of lost neurons in neurodegenerative disorders or following nervous system injury.

Olfactory sensory neurons

Team

Ivan Manzini

Prof. Dr.
Group leader

+49 641-99 35050
imanz@pz.jlug.de

Thomas Hassenklöver

Dr.
Staff scientist

+49 641-99 35263
thass@pz.jlug.de

Anyelet Valencia-Aguilar
Katrin Heber


Secretary

+49 641-99 35051
khebe@pz.jlug.de

Melina Kahl

MSc.
PhD student

+49 641-99 35261
Melina.Kahl
@physzool.bio.uni-giessen.de

Kai Ulrich Kramm

MSc.
PhD student

+49 641-99 35056
Kai.Kramm
@physzool.bio.uni-giessen.de

Joshua Walter

MSc.
PhD student

+49 641-99 35261
Joshua.Walter
@physzool.bio.uni-giessen.de

Anja Schnecko


Technical assistant

+49 641-99 35261
Anja.Schnecko
@physzool.bio.uni-giessen.de

Niklas Leidich


PhD student

+49 641-99 35255
Niklas.Leidich
@dentist.med.uni-giessen.de

Fakhteh Keshavarz-Moghadam
Alba Antonia Hahn

BSc.
MSc. student

+49 641-99 35255
Alba-Antonia.Hahn
@bio.uni-giessen.de

Gülsüm Yildirim

BSc.
MSc. student

+49 641-99 35255
gulsum.yildirim
@studenti.unitn.it

Objective

Recent Publications

Contact Us

  • Dep. Animal Physiology and Molecular Biomedicine
  • Institute of Animal Physiology