Léo Michel

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About me:

I completed my Master’s in Marine Biology at Sorbonne University, Paris, France. I then joined the laboratory of Sylvie Mazan as a PhD student and investigated the evolution of habenular organization in jawed vertebrates. During this period, I performed a systematic comparative analysis of the habenula in cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes, and tetrapods, as well as a genome-wide and spatially resolved analysis of the catshark habenula using an RNA tomography approach. I decided to join the laboratory of Manuel Mameli in Lausanne as a postdoctoral fellow to gain more knowledge and know-how about circuits, behavior, states, and disease. My project focused especially on the encoding of aversion by non-neuronal cells when mice are exposed to threats, and the balance between active coping and passive coping states. I am now happy to have joined the lab of Johannes Larsch, where I plan to gain knowledge about social aspects of the brain in the zebrafish model. My project focuses on identifying socially tunable cells in juveniles, coupling single-nuclei transcriptomics and functional approaches.