Jaime Grutzendler, MD

Knowledge about the complex interplay between various brain cell types (neuronal and non-neuronal) remains rudimentary. These interactions are disrupted in every neurological disorder. The Grutzendler Lab focuses on elucidating the complex and multicellular interactions that occur during brain pathogenesis. Recent innovations in live imaging and optical probes allow sophisticated interrogation of the structural and functional cellular changes that occur in pathological processes. Their goal is to develop and implement such methodologies to advance understanding of the physiology of different brain cells and how they interact in their native, unperturbed microenvironment and during homeostatic perturbations. The lab uses a variety of techniques, including two-photon microscopy, to repeatedly image individual neurons, glial cells (microglia, astrocytes, pericytes), and blood vessels over periods of up to several months. They also developed a methodology for in vivo label-free microscopy of myelin to study axonal myelination. This imaging-centric approach is combined with the use of viral vectors and in utero electroporation, optical sensors of cellular physiology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and genome editing techniques. Specific disease conditions of interest include Alzheimer's disease, microvascular pathology, and myelin disorders.

animal models ;  gene editing ;  optogenetics ;  proteomics ;  transcriptomics ;  two-photon imaging ;  optical imaging ;  superresolution imaging  

cellular neuroscience ;  circuits ;  glia  

Jaime Grutzendler obtained his MD at Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, where he was born and raised. He completed a residency in Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis. There, he had the opportunity to do research with Jeff Lichtman, where he learned about synapses and microscopes. He undertook further neuroscience training in the lab of Wen-Biao Gan at the NYU Skirball Institute, where he developed imaging methods and was involved in some of the earliest studies using chronic intravital imaging of synapses, microglia, and other cell types. He has been at Yale since 2011, where he is currently Professor and Vice Chair for Research in Neurology. His wife works in biotech, and together they have three children.