P8: cGMP and visual signal processing – NO/cGMP pathway dynamics and the role of amacrine cells

Florian Salomon acquired his B.Sc. at the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), where he gained broad knowledge of fundamental concepts in life sciences. In his Bachelor's thesis, he investigated the effects of a CRISPR-mediated knockout line for macrophages - cells of the innate immune system - on salamander regeneration. He further obtained his M.Sc. from the Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering Dresden in Regenerative Biology and Medicine. There, he joined the lab of Prof. Marius Ader for his Master's thesis and studied the formation of photoreceptor outer segments - membrane stacks essential for light detection - in the postnatal development of mice on a quantitative level. Through his research, he developed an interest in neuroscience, quantitative biology, and bioimage data analysis. He joined the lab of Prof. Thomas Euler to investigate the role of cGMP pathways in retinal signal processing in amacrine cells.

Dominic Gonschorek obtained his B.Sc. in Biology at the Free University of Berlin focusing on Neurobiology and Biomedicine. He continued his studies by earning a Master's degree in Neuroscience at the Carl-von-Ossietzky University of Oldenburg where he primarily focused on neurosensory systems, experimental and computational Neuroscience. This combination led Dominic to pursue his doctoral studies in the lab of Thomas Euler. Here, he investigates the role of cGMP pathways for visual signal processing in bipolar cells of the mouse retina.

Tom Schwerd-Kleine obtained his B.Sc. in Integrated Life Science at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany. There, he gained a broad knowledge about research in the life sciences. For his bachelor’s thesis he joined the lab of Prof. Dr. J.H. Brandstätter, where he characterised phenotypical consequences in the retina of a conditional knockout mouse line. This thesis sparked his interest in neuroscience research which led Tom to the Technical University of Munich, where he studied Biomedical Neuroscience. In his master’s thesis he joined the lab of Prof. Dr. T. Misgeld with the aim to establish a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor to measure intracellular ATP concentrations in the model of larval zebrafish in vivo. To combine the knowledge which he gained both in Erlangen and Munich, Tom decided to pursue his PhD in the lab of Thomas Euler. The aim of his project will be to elucidate potential neuromodular influences of cGMP on signal processing in the mouse retina.

Florentyna Deja acquired her B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Tübingen, where she got particularly interested in vision, systems neuroscience and experimental and analytical approaches to study brain function. For her master’s degree, she continued her studies at the University of Tübingen in Neuroscience. During her master thesis in the Euler lab, she used two-photon microscopy to investigate how light stimulus intensity and excitation laser of the microscope affect the responses of ganglion cells in the mouse retina. She started her doctoral studies in the same lab, where she continued studying retinal signal processing at both the photoreceptor and the ganglion cell level.