A novel blood vessel imaging strategy for the treatment of headache disorders
Novel use of miniscopes to uncover migraine mechanisms
During this webinar, guest speaker Dr. Paolo Botta discusses his use of miniscope technology in freely behaving animals and functional ultrasound in anesthetized animals to investigate migraine pathophysiology. Learn how these novel technologies are used to explore and validate headache treatments.
Vasoactive neuropeptides, such as PACAP, are directly implicated in migraine pathophysiology. During the occurrence of migraine, they are released by trigeminocervical nerves which increase vasodilation of venous sinuses, meningeal, and pial arteries. Similarities between laboratory animals and humans in the anatomy and physiology of the cephalic nociceptive pathways have allowed scientists to improve our understanding of headache and migraine. Nevertheless, modeling the mechanisms underlying primary headache disorders like migraine has been challenging due to limitations in substantiating, translating, and back-translating the postulated hypotheses in humans. We overcome this main limitation by developing a functional preclinical model to validate headache treatment principles that closely resemble human studies. This model includes performing blood vessel imaging in freely moving rodents using miniature microscopes and in anesthetized animals using functional ultrasound.
Presenter: Paolo Botta, Ph.D., (Principal Scientist, Lundbeck)
Paolo Botta, Ph.D., is a professional with 20 years of experience in life sciences, pharmacology, and neurobiology, combining academic and industrial expertise in various cultural settings and five countries. Paolo is a project leader of a cross-functional team of experts in various disciplines, including chemistry, regulatory, and clinical trials. He is also a mentor and supervisor of academics and technicians. His work regularly includes scouting suitable disease targets and utilizing scientific knowledge and skills in adopting translational biomarkers.
Presenter: Jonathan Zapata, Ph.D., (Translational Science Lead, Inscopix)
Dr. Jonathan Zapata embarked on his academic journey within the prestigious Marie Curie International Research and Training Program "SyMBaD," supported by the European Union, where he pursued his doctoral studies. Under the mentorship of Dr. Maria Passafaro in Milan, Italy, Jonathan delved into the intricate mechanisms of genes implicated in intellectual disabilities. Following the completion of his PhD, Jonathan transitioned into a postdoctoral role under the guidance of Dr. Nathalie Rouach at Collège de France in Paris. Here, he seamlessly integrated advanced miniscope technologies from Inscopix with in vivo electrophysiology methods, probing neuroglial interactions in freely behaving mice. Since 2017, Jonathan has served as the Translational Science Lead at Inscopix Inc., now a proud member of the Bruker family. In this role, he coordinates "in-house" implementation of Inscopix technologies and research collaborations with pharmaceutical and Biotech companies focusing on neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders.
