Prof. Dr. Alexander Dityatev

Alexander Dityatev is the head of the Molecular Neuroplasticity group at the DZNE Magdeburg. He runs a research program on the role of neural extracellular matrix in neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, depression and schizophrenia. His major expertise is in the extracellular matrix biology, synaptic plasticity and synaptogenesis, electrophysiology, behavioral analysis and two-photon imaging in awake mice.

He will contribute to studies on the role of microglia in synaptic remodeling in mouse models of depression and schizophrenia. To correct neural circuitries affected in these disorders, he will develop new treatments targeting formation of excitatory and inhibitory synapses, the integrity of perisynaptic extracellular matrix, and the signaling via extrasynaptic NMDA receptors.