Martine Manuel

Personal profile

• 2005-present: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Edinburgh.
• 2003-2005: EMBO postdoctoral fellow, University of Edinburgh.
• 2002-2003: Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC) postdoctoral fellow, University of Edinburgh.
• 1998-2002: PhD in Developmental Biology, University Paris 7 and Ecole Normale Supérieure, France.
• 1998-2000: Assistant developmental biology teacher, University Paris 7.

Research

My current work aims to provide new knowledge about the ways in which the cerebral cortex develops a correct balance of inhibitory vs excitatory neurons and also about the capacity of cortical neurons to alter how they develop when perturbed genetically. My project investigates how the transcription factor Pax6 normally prevents a pro-inhibitory and promotes a pro-excitatory program of gene activation in the embryonic cortex.

Recent publications

Manuel, M. N., Mi, D., Mason, J. O., and Price, D. J. (2015). Regulation of cerebral cortical neurogenesis by the Pax6 transcription factor. Front Cell Neurosci 9, 70.  Review.

Clegg, J. M., Li, Z., Molinek, M., Caballero, I. M., Manuel, M. N., and Price, D. J. (2015). Pax6 is required intrinsically by thalamic progenitors for the normal molecular patterning of thalamic neurons but not the growth and guidance of their axons. Neural Dev 10, 26.

Manuel, M. N., Caballero, I. M., Molinek, M., Quintana-Urzainqui, I., Mi, D., Shimogori, T., and Price, D. J. (2014). Cell-autonomous repression of Shh by transcription factor Pax6 regulates diencephalic patterning by controlling the central diencephalic organizer. Cell Rep 8, 1405-1418.

Mi, D., Carr, C. B., Georgala, P. A., Huang, Y. T., Manuel, M. N., Jeanes, E., Niisato, E., Sansom, S. N., Livesey, F. J., Theil, T., et al. (2013). Pax6 exerts regional control of cortical progenitor proliferation via direct repression of Cdk6 and hypophosphorylation of pRb. Neuron 78, 269-284. 

Manuel, M. N., Martynoga, B., Molinek, M. D., Quinn, J. C., Kroemmer, C., Mason, J. O., and Price, D. J. (2011). The transcription factor Foxg1 regulates telencephalic progenitor proliferation cell autonomously, in part by controlling Pax6 expression levels. Neural Dev 6, 9.

Georgala PA, Manuel M and Price, DJ. (2011) The generation of superficial cortical layers is regulated by levels of the transcription factor Pax6. Cerebral cortex Apr22.

Manuel M, Martynoga B , Yu T, West JD, Mason JO, Price DJ.(2010) The transcription factor Foxg1 regulates the competence of telencephalic cells to adopt subpallial fates in mice. Development 137:487-497. 

Manuel M, Pratt T, Liu M, Jeffery G, Price, DJ. Overexpression of Pax6 results in microphthalmia, retinal dysplasia and defective retinal ganglion cell axon guidance.(2008). BMC Dev Biol  8:59.

Manuel M, Georgala PA, Carr CB, Chanas S, Kleinjan DA, Martynoga B, Mason JO, Molinek M, Pinson J, Pratt T, Quinn JC, Simpson TI, Tyas DA, van Heyningen V, West JD, Price DJ.(2007). Controlled overexpression of Pax6 in vivo negatively autoregulates the Pax6 locus, causing cell-autonomous defects of late cortical progenitor proliferation with little effect on cortical arealization. Development 134:545-555.

Manuel, M. and Price, DJ. (2005). Role of Pax6 in forebrain regionalization. Brain research bulletin 66(4-6), 387-393. Review.