Sofia Jurgensen Email & Phone Number

Greater Boston Area

Framingham, MA

Bronx, NY

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – identifying synaptic and circuit deficits in the CNTNAP2 mouse model of Autism
• Utilized whole-cell patch clamp of pyramidal cells and interneurons, as well as field recording techniques in acute hippocampal slices to perform extensive assessment of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic function.
• Prepared immunohistochemistry samples and performed confocal imaging analysis of synaptic markers;
• Managed and maintained the colony of CNTNAP2-/- mice, including breeding, genotyping, etc.;
• Wrote several fellowship and grant applications (funded - RFK-IDDRC pilot grant 30k);
• Wrote a manuscript that was published at The Journal of Neuroscience;

Rio De Janeiro Area, Brazil

• Peripheral Nerve Degeneration and Regeneration – investigating mechanisms of nerve degeneration, and testing therapeutic strategies to accelerate recovery after peripheral nerve injury.
• Showed that combining Schwann-cell transplantation in a biodegradable conduit with physical exercise significantly improves the rate of functional and morphological recovery after sciatic nerve transection in mice;
• Showed that the absence of galectin-3 speeds up nerve degeneration;
• Employed survival surgery techniques in mice, such as sciatic nerve transection, and implantation of a biodegradable nerve conduit;
• Prepared and embedded fixed tissue for electromicroscopy analysis;
• Analyzed immunofluorescence in fixed tissue using a confocal microscope;

Rio De Janeiro Area, Brazil

• Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Neurodegeneration – investigating pathological mechanisms and testing novel therapeutic strategies in AD.
• Showed that the activation of D1/D5-like dopamine receptors is able to prevent synapse dysfunction caused by soluble oligomers of the Amyloid-beta peptide in cultured neurons and acute hippocampal slices;
• Participated on a project that showed that NMDA receptors are not the sole binding targets of Amyloid-beta oligomers on the neuronal membrane;
• Demonstrated that Amyloid-beta oligomers increase the levels of cellular prion protein (PrPc) on the neuronal surface;
• Performed biochemical experiments, such as immunolabeling proteins on the neuronal surface (e.g. glutamate receptors), used fluorescence microscopy, western blotting, and imaging analysis (Image J) to quantify changes.
• Performed field recordings and long-term potentiation (LTP) experiments in acute slices from rat hippocampus;

Federal University Of Santa Catarina

• Pain and Natural Product research – characterizing the analgesic effect of natural products isolated from Brazilian medicinal plants.
• Utilized rodent models of pain to characterize the analgesic effect of purified extracts and its subfractions obtained from two medicinal plants from Brazil;
• Used a broad array of pharmacological tools to dissect the mechanism of action of the subfractions as centrally-active analgesics;
• Wrote three manuscripts – one as first author and two as second author – which are published in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior and the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Biochemistry/Neuroscience

Activities and Societies: - student member of the Society for Neuroscience - presented my PhD thesis work in a talk (nanosymposium) during.

Master'S Degree, Pharmacology

Activities and Societies: - served as a student representative in the graduate division council - member of the Brazilian Society of.

Bs, Pharmacy And Biological Chemistry

- Carried out a cooperative pilot study with the pharmaceutical industry Cristalia to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of alkaloids.