Neuroepigenetics: a discipline with new perspectives for brain research

About author:

Prof. Isabelle Mansuy is Professor in Neuroepigenetics at the Medical Faculty of the University Zürich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ). She obtained a PhD in Developmental Neurobiology at the Université Louis Pasteur Strasbourg, France then trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University, New York before establishing her lab in Zürich (1999). Her research examines the epigenetic basis of complex brain functions and the heritability of acquired traits across generations in mammals. It focuses on the mechanisms underlying the expression and the inheritance of the effects of environmental factors such as traumatic stress in early life, on behavior and physiology, and their link with diseases in humans. The major goals are to gain new knowledge into the ensemble of non-genetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs and histone modifications that are persistently altered by early experiences and how they are transmitted across generations. This research is based on mouse models and on translation to humans. Prof.  Mansuy co-authored many research articles, reviews and books in the field of neuroepigenetics. She is member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Science, of the Research Council of the Swiss National Foundation, and of the European Molecular Biology Organization. She is recipient of the Medal of Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite and of the Medal of Chevalier dans l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur in France.