Centre for Developmental Neurobiology

🏅 We’re excited to share that CDN has achieved My Green Lab® Certification at the Platinum level! 💚

👣 This globally recognised certification reflects our commitment to measurable, science-based improvements that reduce the environmental footprint of our research.

#MyGreenLab #SustainableScience

📣 We’re hiring! Research Strategy Manager - Maternity Cover

The appointee will work closely with Director Prof Oscar Marín, to contribute to scientific & strategic decision-making & oversee the Centre's public profiles.

📅 Fixed term contract May 26–January 27
📩 Apply by 22 Feb: lnkd.in/eRZPgh2v

MRC CNDD Symposium 2026 Shaping the Brain: Environmental Influences on Neurodevelopmental Conditions

🌟 Join us for the MRC CNDD Symposium 2026! 🌟
🗓 Friday 13 February 2026 | 9:00 AM - 6:30 PM
📍 Great Hall, Strand Campus, London

🧠 Shaping the Brain: Environmental Influences on Neurodevelopmental Conditions 🧠

Reserve your spot and take a look at the exciting programme here: tinyurl.com/mu6mbe5p

New organoid research with input from CDN's Benedikt Berninger shows that the “inactive” X chromosome in female brain cells can be dynamically reactivated during development, helping protect against X-linked neurological disorders. Take a look! 🧠 ♀️https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-68428-x

Congratulations to CDN Managing Director Robert Hindges for winning the 2025 Supervisory Excellence Award for the faculty @kingsioppn.bsky.social! 👏

🔗 Read more about the award here: devneuro.org/cdn/news-det...

A handful of neurobiologists, 2,000 volunteers 🙋 and tens of thousands of segmented synaptic boutons 🔬 🧫

Take a look at CDN researchers Guilherme Neves and Juan Burrone's journey into citizen science - read more about the project here: 🔗 devneuro.org/cdn/news-det...

Can’t be happier seeing Richard starting this. His original angle to an old problem ( 😉) has great potential for success.

Fascinating to see how findings in dev. neuro. leads to insights in age-related degenerative disorders!
@houartlab.bsky.social @devneuro.bsky.social @kingsioppn.bsky.social

Congratulations to Dr Richard Taylor for being awarded the Race Against Dementia Fellowship 👏

🔗 Read more about the prestigious 5-year award and Richard's research into synapse resilience and neuroprotective mechanisms in healthy ageing and dementia: tinyurl.com/2s39mcma

Our Neureka! Seminar Series is back 🧠

We’re very pleased to welcome Professor Nicky Clayton from the University of Cambridge, who will be presenting the first seminar of the academic year, hosted by Alexi Mery.

Join us at 1pm today in the Large Meeting Room to hear about her exciting research!

#vitaecon2025 | Vitae Congratulations to the winners of the Vitae Impact, Culture and Engagement (ICE) Awards 2025! ⭐ The awards ceremony was held on the evening of Day 1 of the in-person element of #VitaeCon2025, thank ...

www.linkedin.com/posts/vitae_...

Huge congratulations to Dr. Leigh Wilson who recently won the award for Innovative and Inclusive Practice at the @vitae-news.bsky.social Impact, Culture and Engagement Awards! 🎉

@devneuroacademy.bsky.social
@devneuro.bsky.social
@kingsioppn.bsky.social

We're very pleased to welcome Professor Thomas Reh from the University of Washington, who is visiting the CDN to present an external seminar hosted by Professor Benedikt Berninger.

Join us at 1pm today in the Large Meeting Room to hear all about his exciting research!

We’re delighted to welcome Prof. Dimphna Meijer from the Delft University of Technology, who will be presenting an external seminar today, hosted by Prof. Robert Hindges.

Join us at 1pm in the Large Meeting Room to hear her talk!

A postnatal molecular switch drives activity-dependent maturation of parvalbumin interneurons Neuronal activity triggers PGC-1α-mediated transcriptional programs that drive the late maturation of PV+ interneurons, essential for cortical circuit function. PGC-1α partners with ERRγ and Mef2c to ...

1/10 Our latest research, led by Monika Moissidis, identifies a mechanism regulating the maturation of PV interneurons in the #cortex. This is the story @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... ⬇︎ thread @devneuro.bsky.social @kingsioppn.bsky.social
@wellcometrust.bsky.social

Sneak peek of the exhibition happening today👀🤞

Happy Friday and Day 4 of DNA CREATE!!!

Today the students will be presenting their projects at the Science Gallery 🖼️🥼

Day 3 has been busy, busy, busy!!!

Students are focused working on their group projects! Excited for the exhibition tomorrow

Day 1 of DNA CREATE is off to a great start!

We started the morning with some introductions, ice breakers and reflection as we created our own self portraits🙌

Good morning and happy Wednesday from the DNA Create team!

Today’s morning session is all about brains (literally) 🧠

Our students are diving into neuroanatomy and getting a firsthand look at neuroscience research, thanks to our incredible researchers at @devneuro.bsky.social 🤞🤞🤞

Poster with illustration of pregnant person dressed in green. Text reads: Vaccination in pregnancy, your voice matters: share your thoughts by completing our survey. Supported by Tommy's. Logo of King's College London on bottom right.

Dr. Katie Long is leading vital research, funded by an MRF award, to learn how pregnant people feel about vaccines during pregnancy. We want your views! Take this short survey: tinyurl.com/vaccines-in-...

For more information on vaccines in pregnancy visit tommys.org/vaccinations-pregnancy

Research Strategy Manager

We're #hiring! We're looking for an experienced and dynamic Research Strategy Manager to join our vibrant Centre. More details in link. Deadline 09 July
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/118025-...

Senior Executive Assistant

We're #hiring for a new role as Senior #ExecutiveAssistant to our fantastic Director and Managing Director! Deadline 23 June
@marinlab.bsky.social

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/116505-...

Cadherins orchestrate specific patterns of perisomatic inhibition onto distinct pyramidal cell populations Nature Communications - How cortical interneurons establish precise connections among intermingled populations of excitatory neurons remains unclear. Here, the authors reveal that Cadherins...

New paper from Julie Jézéquel and the Rico lab
on role of cadherins in neuronal inhibition out now in Nat Comms! @natureportfolio.nature.com rdcu.be/el18f

@houartlab.bsky.social first time at the comparative neuro conference. Fantastic #ECCN2025 meeting! The mix of ‘old’ and new technologies brings the field a new edge and the potential for new understanding of brain evolutionary mechanisms. Exciting!

Dkk genes dynamically expressed in the zebrafish nervous system, some in very discreet brain populations (watch this space for brain images).
Malik Missaoui is using genetics to follow behaviour of endogenous proteins and crack their local functions.
@mrc-cndd.bsky.social @kingsioppn.bsky.social

10/10 Here’s the paper @nature.com if you want to dig in www.nature.com/articles/s41... That’s it. Thanks for sharing! @devneuro.bsky.social @mrc-cndd.bsky.social @kingsioppn.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu

9/10 In sum, our findings identify a previously unknown form of interneuron plasticity and strengthen the idea that neuropeptide signalling plays crucial roles in maintaining neural circuit stability. Funded by the magnificents @erc.europa.eu and Rosetrees Trust

8/10 Importantly, this mechanism also regulates the connectivity of PV interneurons during learning, for example, in a fear-conditioning paradigm

7/10 For PV interneurons, Vgf is the critical gene modulating the plasticity of inhibitory inputs received from other PV interneurons

Bidirectional perisomatic inhibitory plasticity of a Fos neuronal network - Nature Novel experiences in mice lead to opposing effects on inhibition of Fos-activated hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons by parvalbumin- and cholecystokinin-expressing interneurons, revealing the role...

6/10 Incidentally, the Greenberg lab described a few years ago that hippocampal pyramidal cells use Scg2 to modulate the inhibition they receive from PV and CCK interneurons. You can find their paper here www.nature.com/articles/s41...