On Sept. 23rd, 2011, BIOPIC hosted Prof. Gero Miesenbock of Oxford University, who was given an overview of the undergoing projects of BIOPIC and an in-depth lab tour.

 

Gero Miesenb?ck is Waynflete Professor of Physiology at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Magdalen College. A native of Austria, he received his M.D. from the University of Innsbruck and undertook postdoctoral training with James Rothman. Before coming to Oxford, he held faculty appointments at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Yale University.

 

Miesenb?ck is the founder of the emerging field of optogenetics. He has developed genetic strategies for visualizing and controlling nerve cells with light. He has invented several methods, including genetically targeted photostimulation of neurons and optical imaging of neurotransmission with synapto-pHluorin, a derivative of the green fluorescent protein.

 

Miesenb?ck’s research on optogenetics and the nervous system of the fruit fly details the structure and function of neural circuits responsible for sensory processing, action selection, and motor pattern generation.