Michał Ślęzak

Biography

Dr. Ślęzak studies the role of astrocytes in the biology and pathology of the central nervous system. He developed multiple tools for cross-species astrocyte-specific genetic manipulation in vivo which are broadly used worldwide. In his research, he used those techniques for studying physiological tripartite synapse and gliotransmission. He discovered that astrocytes are a major cellular locus of the action of stress hormones in the brain and he revealed multiple consequences of the aberrant signaling for physiology and behavior. His academic work was published in major journals, such as Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, Science Advances and Current Biology and cited over 1000 times. He recently accomplished a big pharma-sponsored project in which his team identified novel, astrocyte-specific targets for manipulation in psychiatric disorders. His current research aims at resolving gene-physiology-behavior relationship for novel candidates using circuit-focused approaches with transgenic mouse models, automated analysis of behavior and iPSC-derived neuro-glia circuits.  

During Neuronus 2024 Neuroscience Forum he will lead workshop: Career Paths.