CV Science

Patrick Carroll Ph.D. Molecular genetics

Course and current status

Diplomas

1987: PhD Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.                                                       

2004 : Habilitation à diriger les recherches, University Montpellier 2

Positions

1999 : Chargé de Recherche CR1, CNRS        

2009 : Director of research, DR2, CNRS.

Laboratories                                                                                                                    

1982 : Dept. Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

1987 : Max-Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany                                                          

1996 : Inserm U432, “Development and Survival of Spinal Motoneurons"

2002 : Inserm U583, “Physiopathology and therapy of sensori-motors déficits”.                               

2010 : Inserm U1051 “Neuropathologies sensorielles, Neuroplasticité et thérapies »                                                                   

Current situation

Head of the Team “Neural differentiation and connectivity in the somatosensory system “ Inserm U 1051, Montpellier, France

Scientific summary

As a post-doc in the Max-Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich (Director Hans Thoenen) Patrick Carroll made important contributions to the cloning of neurotrophic factor genes and the generation of transgenic mouse models to study their function. He contributed to several important publications on the identification and functions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), and in particular on the role of BDNF in mechanoreceptor neurons.

In 1996, he moved to the IBDM (Luminy, Marseille) where he worked on motoneuron development in the group directed by Dr. Christopher Henderson. He used in situ hybridization screens to identify genes express in sub-types of motoneurons and demonstrated a role for the ECM molecule reelin in the positioning of motoneuron cell bodies in the brainstem.

Since 2002, he has directed a group at the Institute des Neurosciences de Montpellier (INM), Montpellier studying the development of the somatosensory neurons in the sensorimotor system. He has combined transcriptomics and large scale in situ hybridization to identify genes expressed in specific sub-types of sensory neurons, and studied the functions of these genes using mouse transgenics, Drosophila genetics, neuroanatomy, behavioural tests on mice and in vitro assay systems. He has published more than 50 publications over the past 20 years.

 In 2010, P. Carroll formed new INSERM team “Neural differentiation and connectivity in the somatosensory system” as part 4-year mandate of the Institute des Neurosciences de Montpellier (INM).