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Faculty Candidate Talk: André Sousa , PhD
February 12, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Speaker: André Sousa , PhD
Talk Title: “Human Brain Development and Evolution: Insights From Functional Genomics”
About the Speaker: André Sousa received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Porto in Portugal. After his undergraduate studies, he entered the GABBA graduate program at the University of Porto and decided to pursue his studies in developmental neurobiology with Nenad Sestan, at Yale School of Medicine. The goals of his research are to identify and characterize the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing human brain development and evolution, and to apply that knowledge towards understanding neuropsychiatric disorders. He employs a multifaceted approach that combines functional genomics with developmental and evolutionary neurobiology. Approaching human brain development, function, and disease through the lens of our closest extant relatives, the non-human primates, is an essential component of his research.
About the Cluster Hire:
UW’s Cluster Hiring Initiative was launched in 1998 as an innovative partnership between the university, state and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). In its first phase, the initiative authorized nearly 50 “clusters” and nearly 150 new faculty through several rounds of hiring. In 2017, phase two of the Cluster Hiring Initiative was authorized with a goal of supporting at least 12 clusters.
A proposal by several Waisman Center investigators for a Functional Genetics/Genomics of Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Diseases cluster at the Waisman Center was selected by the UW-Madison Cluster Hire Initiative.
New faculty hires who are part of the Functional Genetics/Genomics of Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Diseases cluster at the Waisman Center will help develop a pipeline of discovery that begins with patients in the clinics and ends with new approaches for treatments or therapies. This cycle of translational research would start with identifying patient-specific genetic variants, and then continue through experimental studies to confirm whether these variants truly cause disease. Ultimately, new panels for diagnosis and new approaches for treatment may be discovered.
For further information, contact Eric Schafer at 263-2328 or eeschafer@wisc.edu.
