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PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Faculty Seminar Johannes Graeff: Epigenetic memory aids
DTSTART:20260226T121500
DTEND:20260226T131500
DTSTAMP:20260415T075944Z
UID:51c2ddfd95cf202c57b2c5d77a0544b3f728760f33d2ea444cc3e6dc
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Johannes Graeff\nAbstract\nMemory research faces a conundrum. 
 Memories can last\, but neuronal spiking does not. How\, then\, can memori
 es be encoded despite transient neuronal activity? One of the most stable 
 cellular codes resides on the epigenome\, suggesting that learned behavior
 s may deploy chromatin-templated mechanisms for their long-term storage.\n
 In this talk\, I outline my lab’s efforts over the past five years to pu
 t this hypothesis to test. First\, we found that already before memory enc
 oding\, epigenetic plasticity plays a fundamental role in selecting neuron
 s for memory trace formation. Second\, following encoding\, we discovered 
 that cell type-specific and locus-resolved epigenetic modifications are ne
 cessary and sufficient to bidirectionally regulate memory storage. Third\,
  this malleability of epigenetic modifications also forms the basis for ev
 aluating their translational potential to treat cognitive disorders\, whic
 h we pursue in both preclinical and clinical studies. And finally\, we sho
 w that reverting the epigenetic landscape by means of cellular reprogrammi
 ng can rejuvenate cognitive functions\, further supporting their role as m
 olecular memory aids.\n\nBio\nJohannes Gräff is Associate Professor at th
 e Brain Mind Institute of the School of Life Sciences at EPFL. Of Swiss or
 igin\, he obtained his MSc in evolutionary biology at the University of La
 usanne and his PhD in neuroscience at ETH Zürich\, before conducting his 
 postdoctoral studies at the Picower Institute of Learning and Memory at MI
 T. Since setting up his own research group at EPFL in 2013\, Johannes has 
 become a NARSAD Independent Investigator\, an MQ fellow\, a Vallee Scholar
 \, a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative researcher and a founding member of the FE
 NS-KAVLI Network of Excellence. He has received both an ERC Starting and C
 onsolidator Grant\, as well as the Young Investigator Award of the Swiss S
 ociety for Biological Psychiatry in 2014\, the Boehringer Ingelheim FENS R
 esearch Award in 2020\, and the Robert Bing Prize in 2022. In 2022\, he wo
 n the Polysphère Award for best teaching in Life Sciences at EPFL. His la
 b studies the molecular and cellular underpinnings of memory formation\, s
 torage and change\, with a particular emphasis on epigenetic processes.\n\
 nThis seminar is part of the evaluation of Prof. Johannes Gräff for the p
 romotion to Full Professor.
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717 https://epfl.zoom.u
 s/j/62257746902
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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