Dr Andrea Santangelo M University positionResearch Associate Dr Andrea Santangelo M is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students. DepartmentsDepartment of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience InstitutesBehavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute Research ThemesInterestsMy work focuses on gene variation associated to emotional and cognitive behaviour. In particular, I study polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene that are linked to vulnerability to early-life stress and the development of affective disorders. Our research includes behavioural testing, brain imaging and molecular studies to understand the neurodevelopmental changes and molecular mechanisms that underlie the individual differences in affective behaviour. I am available as a consultant.  Reduced Serotonin 2A receptor binding in the anterior insula associated with increased anxiety and genetic variation in the serotonin transporter. Click image to view full-size Research Focus
EquipmentBehavioural analysis Bioinformatics, Gene expression (RT-PCR), DNA-protein interactions (EMSA, ELISA) Fluorescence microscopy Immunohistochemistry Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Neuropsychological testing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Collaborators
Associated News ItemsKey publicationsShiba Y, Oikonomidis L, Sawiak S, Fryer TD, Hong YT, Cockcroft G, Santangelo AM, Roberts AC. (2017), “Converging Prefronto-Insula-Amygdala Pathways in Negative Emotion Regulation in Marmoset Monkeys ” Biol Psychiatry 82(12):895-903 Santangelo AM, Ito M, Shiba Y, Clarke HF, Schut EH, Cockcroft G, Ferguson-Smith AC, Roberts AC (2016), “Novel Primate Model of Serotonin Transporter Genetic Polymorphisms Associated with Gene Expression, Anxiety and Sensitivity to Antidepressants” Neuropsychopharmacology 41(9):2366-76 Publications2017Oikonomidis L, Santangelo AM, Shiba Y, Clarke FH, Robbins TW, Roberts AC (2017), “A dimensional approach to modeling symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders in the marmoset monkey” Dev Neurobiol 77(3):328-353 2016Shiba Y, Santangelo AM, Roberts AC (2016), “Beyond the Medial Regions of Prefrontal Cortex in the Regulation of Fear and Anxiety” Front Syst Neurosci 10:12 2015Shiba Y, Kim C, Santangelo AM, Roberts AC (2015), “Lesions of either anterior orbitofrontal cortex or ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in marmoset monkeys heighten innate fear and attenuate active coping behaviors to predator threat” Front Syst Neurosci 8:250 2014Shiba Y, Santangelo AM, Braesicke K, Agustín-Pavón C, Cockcroft G, Haggard M, Roberts AC (2014), “Individual differences in behavioral and cardiovascular reactivity to emotive stimuli and their relationship to cognitive flexibility in a primate model of trait anxiety.” Front Behav Neurosci 8:137 Details 2012Agustín-Pavón C, Braesicke K, Shiba Y, Santangelo AM, Mikheenko Y, Cockroft G, Asma F, Clarke H, Man MS, Roberts AC (2012), “Lesions of ventrolateral prefrontal or anterior orbitofrontal cortex in primates heighten negative emotion.” Biol Psychiatry 72(4):266-72 Details 2007Bumaschny VF, de Souza FS, López Leal RA, Santangelo AM, Baetscher M, Levi DH, Low MJ, Rubinstein M (2007), “Transcriptional regulation of pituitary POMC is conserved at the vertebrate extremes despite great promoter sequence divergence.” Mol Endocrinol 21(11):2738-49 Details Santangelo AM, de Souza FS, Franchini LF, Bumaschny VF, Low MJ, Rubinstein M (2007), “Ancient exaptation of a CORE-SINE retroposon into a highly conserved mammalian neuronal enhancer of the proopiomelanocortin gene.” PLoS Genet 3(10):1813-26 Details 2005de Souza FS, Santangelo AM, Bumaschny V, Avale ME, Smart JL, Low MJ, Rubinstein M (2005), “Identification of neuronal enhancers of the proopiomelanocortin gene by transgenic mouse analysis and phylogenetic footprinting.” Mol Cell Biol 25(8):3076-86 Details 2004Overstreet LS, Hentges ST, Bumaschny VF, de Souza FS, Smart JL, Santangelo AM, Low MJ, Westbrook GL, Rubinstein M (2004), “A transgenic marker for newly born granule cells in dentate gyrus.” J Neurosci 24(13):3251-9 Details |