Suzana Atanasoski is Assistant Professor (SNF Professorship) and works at the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel. She is a cell neurobiologist working on genetic mechanisms that control proliferation and differentiation of neural and glial progenitor cells in the nervous system. Understanding the molecular and genetic origins of stem and progenitor cells promises to open the way for understanding how different functional classes of neurons and glia cells are generated during development and following injury. Various regulatory pathways act in a time and context-dependent manner to regulate proliferation and differentiation of neural and glial progenitors. The group focuses on cortical and spinal cord development, and in addition, uses cortical lesions as injury paradigm. In particular, her group is investigating the role of the proto-oncogene Ski and specific cell cycle proteins as part of the mechanisms by which maintenance and proliferation of progenitor cells are controlled. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of these processes the group is combining cellular, molecular and genomic approaches. These include the analysis of knockout mice, various cell culture systems for gain and loss-of-function experiments, and biochemical and microarray analysis of protein- DNA interactions. Gaining insight into the mechanisms driving the differentiation of neural and glial progenitor cells will help devise strategies to replace lost cells in diseased areas of the nervous system..
Her group has several national and international collaborations with scientists working in Basel, Zurich, and abroad.