Objective
Prenatal stress (PS) is more detrimental to males than to females. Evidence is accumulating that PS may play an important etiological role in the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, which often show a male bias in incidence. The mechanisms underlying the sex-specific effects of PS are still unknown, but recent evidence implicates a crucial role for microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. Although in the adult brain microglia are activated only after infection or injury, in the developing neonate microglia show a structurally activated pattern, especially in males, which coincides with the critical period for hormonal action that cause sexual differentiation of the brain. Very recently the immune system, with a central role for microglia cells, was found to play a pivotal role in the masculinizing pathway. I hypothesize that the sex-specific behavioral vulnerability to PS is caused by sex-specific activation of neonatal microglia, leading to deficits in synaptic pruning, through epigenetic alterations in microglia, most notable in the COX2 promoter. COX2 is pivotal in the feed-forward mechanism of microglia activation and implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. I will induce or block neonatal microglia activation to study whether PGE2 is both necessary and sufficient to induce the sex-specific vulnerability to PS and its mechanisms. These experiments may give important novel insights into the sex-specific sensitivity to the prenatal environment, and help understand the male predominance in many neurodevelopmental disorders. Coming from a world-leading lab with the main focus on sex differences in the brain I will bring important new knowledge and techniques to the host institute, while I will be thoroughly trained in state-of-the-art techniques at the interface of neuroscience and immunology at the country’s best research university, creating a novel niche in the field and preparing me for a professorship position in the EU.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3584 CX Utrecht
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.