CV Science

Simon Lecomte PhD student in Neuroscience

Course and current status

From 2021 to present
PhD in the team of Christophe Mulle, IINS (Institut Interdisciplinaire de Neurosciences), CNRS UMR 5297, University of Bordeaux, France.

The aim of this thesis is to decipher the link between Fragile X syndrome and presynaptic mechanisms (with a particular interest in plasticity) at the DG-CA3 synapse in the hippocampus, and then to study memory. In doing so, we will be able to better understand what causes the learning and memory impairments of this disease.
Methods : patch-clamp, 2P imaging, immunohistochemistry, behavioural tests.

From 2019 to 2021
M.Sc. (International) of Neuroscience at the University of Bordeaux, France (obtained with distinction).

• 2021 : Internship of five months at the Neurocentre Magendie (Bordeaux, France) in the team of Stéphane Oliet "Glia-neuron interactions", supervised by Stéphane Oliet. The aim of the project was to discover the cellular mechanisms of the active and basal release of astrocytic D-serine in the hippocampus. Electrophysiology
• 2020 : Internship of two months at the Neurocentre Magendie (Bordeaux, France) in the team of Stéphane Oliet "Glia-neuron interactions", supervised by Aude Panatier. The aim of the project was to find out whether the activation of the astrocytic receptor EphrinB3 leads to the exocytosis of D-serine by astrocytes and thus to the induction of hippocampic LTP. Electrophysiology

From 2016 to 2019
B.Sc. of Psychology at the University of Strasbourg, France (obtained with distinction).

• 2019 : Internship of thirty hours at the INCI (Institut de Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France) in the team of Etienne Challet "Neurobiology of rythms", supervised by Etienne Challet. Immunohistochemistry
• 2018 : Internship of two months at the INCI (Institut de Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Strasbourg, France) in the team of Michel Barrot and Ipek Yalcin "Pain and nociception", supervised by Pierre-Eric Lutz. Conditionned place preference, immunohistochemistry

2016
Scientific baccalaureate at the Lycée français 'Victor Hugo' of Frankfurt, Germany (obtained with distinction).

Scientific summary

Glial cells and cognition

Interactions between neurons and glial cells are becoming a hot scientific topic, rich in discoveries and promises. For more than twenty years, numerous researchers around the world have shown the importance of glial cells not only in supporting but also, and above all, in their participation in neurotransmission. In particular, astrocytes are part of what is known as the tripartite synapse (Araque et al., 1999). Within this synapse astrocytes can detect synaptic activity via receptors, integrate this activity via calcium signals and in turn respond by releasing gliotransmitters (e.g. ATP, glutamate, D-serine). The role of these cells is crucial in a cerebral region called the hippocampus and also in the cortex (especially frontal and prefrontal). Other studies have shown the role of astrocytes during synaptic plasticity (i.e. LTP, LTD) in these regions. This suggests a link between astrocytes and memory. My major scientific interest is precisely based on this link.