The brain is inarguably the most complex organ in the body, and disruption to brain activity can have fatal consequences for the organism.
The brain’s resilience relies on high levels of redundancy to ensure continued function under most circumstances, as well as built-in homeostatic mechanisms to stabilise neural activity and maintain interhemispheric and excitatory/inhibitory balance.
Following stroke, direct tissue damage and disconnection of remote brain areas causes functional disruption that can span multiple domains. Inhibitory neurons have a primary role in post stroke recovery for their ability to modulate brain plasticity in both the perilesional region and remote areas. Our recent work shows that optogenetically induced gamma frequency entrainment, targeting interneurons, offers neuroprotection after stroke.
Meet our newest stroke researcher: Dr Matilde Balbi
Group leader
Dr Matilde Balbi
Group Leader, Neuromodulation and homeostatic processes
Senior Research Fellow
+61 (0)432 202 911
m.balbi@uq.edu.au
@matildebalbi
balbilab.com
UQ Researcher Profile
Our mission is to make an impact on the field of stroke recovery and other pathological conditions by using a multi-level approach that includes neuronal, systems and behavioural analysis. We aim to recruit and enhance the intrinsic neuroprotective mechanisms of the brain through recovery paradigms tailored individually by automated assessment and AI-controlled feedback. To do that we need to test our hypothesis by performing well-designed experiments that will lead to new discoveries and disseminate those newly generated knowledge to the scientific community, and to the general population to educate about neuroscience.
PhD Projects:
Students will learn how to use two photon imaging and mesoscale imaging tools together with optogenetic manipulation and other form of brain stimulation to understand the neuronal mechanisms involved in neuroprotection. Machine learning will also be implemented in our approach. Candidates with a degree in biology, neuroscience or related fields such as engineering, mathematics or physics are encouraged to apply. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, LGBTIAQ+ students and others from backgrounds underrepresented in STEMM
- Mechanisms by which cortical oscillations mediate neuroprotection
Honour projects:
Students will learn how to use cutting edge techniques related to their projects. Candidates with a degree in biology, neuroscience or related fields such as engineering, mathematics or physics are encouraged to apply. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, LGBTIAQ+ students and others from backgrounds underrepresented in STEMM.
- Metabolic changes underlying neuroprotection
- Closed-loop joystick navigation for mice
- Implication of cortical spreading depolarizations following stroke
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Lynch, Cillian E, Eisenbaum, Maxwell, Algamal, Moustafa, Balbi, Matilde, Ferguson, Scott, Mouzon, Benoit, Saltiel, Nicole, Ojo, Joseph, Diaz-Arrastia, Ramon, Mullan, Mike, Crawford, Fiona and Bachmeier, Corbin (2020). Impairment of cerebrovascular reactivity in response to hypercapnic challenge in a mouse model of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. doi: 10.1177/0271678x20954015
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Murphy, Timothy H., Michelson, Nicholas J., Boyd, Jamie D., Fong, Tony, Bolanos, Luis A., Bierbrauer, David, Siu, Teri, Balbi, Matilde, Bolanos, Federico, Vanni, Matthieu and LeDue, Jeff M. (2020). Automated task training and longitudinal monitoring of mouse mesoscale cortical circuits using home cages. eLife, 9. doi: 10.7554/elife.55964
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Balbi, Matilde, Vanni, Matthieu P., Vega, Max J., Silasi, Gergely, Sekino, Yuki, Boyd, Jamie D., LeDue, Jeffrey M. and Murphy, Timothy H. (2019). Longitudinal monitoring of mesoscopic cortical activity in a mouse model of microinfarcts reveals dissociations with behavioral and motor function. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 39 (8), 1486-1500. doi: 10.1177/0271678x18763428
Our approach
The Balbi lab employs a multi-level approach, combining in vivo imaging techniques, brain stimulation—including but not exclusively optogenetics—and AI driven, individually tailored recovery paradigms in behaving rodents, to investigate intrinsic neuroprotective mechanisms of the brain under pathological conditions such as stroke.
Research areas
- Stroke recovery
- Neurodegeneration and protection
- Interneurons
- Brain oscillations
- Artificial Intelligence
- Imaging
- Behaviour
- Brain stimulation
- Homeostatic processes
