Dr. Ana Mingorance-Le Meur

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University of British Columbia
Postdoctoral FellowAppointed: 2006
Professional Headshot of Ana Mingorance-Le Meur

Mailing Address

University of British Columbia
Dept. of Cellular and Physiological Sciences
2350 Health Sciences Mall
Room 3320
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3
Canada

Contact Information

Phone: (604) 822-1705
alemeur@interchange.ubc.ca

Qualifications

Ph.D., University of Barcelona, Neuroscience, 2006.
DEA, University of Barcelona, Neuroscience, 2004.
B.Sc., University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Biology, 2001.

Previous Positions

2002-2006, Graduate Student, University of Barcelona, (UB), Cellular Biology
2000-2001, Internal Student (Undergraduate), University of La Laguna, (ULL), Cellular Biology

Expertise and Research Interests

My research focuses on neuronal morphological plasticity. More precisely, I'm interested in how neurites gain or lose their capacity to sprout new branches and how they keep the growth cone and the neurite shaft as two separate compartments. Once we know this, we may be capable of manipulating axon plasticity and induce, for example, compensatory axon sprouting.

Expertise:
** Molecular and cellular biology
** Neuroscience signal transduction
** Developmental neurobiology
** Neuronal plasticity
** Axonal regeneration

Other Expertise

During my Ph.D. (April 2002-January 2006), I worked on the characterization of the role of some myelin-related proteins in restricting axonal regeneration in the central nervous system.

As a result of this work, we:
** Validated the involvement of Nogo-A and NgR in the prevention of axonal regeneration of a cortical connection using a rodent model of traumatic brain injury.
** Demonstrated the benefit of targeting Nogo-A, NgR and proteoglycans after injury fo promote axonal regeneration (in vitro axotomy).
** Described a novel population of reactive mature oligodendrocytes based on MAG overexpression.
** Provided the first description of the myelin-associated inhibitor Nogo-A during brain development and characterized the phenotype of Nogo-A mutant mice.

The thesis is available on-line:
http://www.tesisenxarxa.net/TDX-0405106-121116/

From this research, I published four research articles and two reviews under the name of Ana Mingorance (maiden name) and Ana Mingorance-Le Meur (obvious combination to facilitate tracking).

Industrial Relevance

Two US provisional patent applications have been filed covering 1) The new use of a known protease inhibitor for axon sprouting and 2) gene therapy for the induction of axon sprouting.

http://www.flintbox.com/technology.asp?page=3071

Honors and Awards

2006-2008, EMBO Long-Term Fellowship, European Molecular Biology Organization, University of British Columbia, Postdoctoral Fellowship
2006-2009, MSFHR Postdoctoral Fellowship, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, University of British Columbia, Honorary award
2004-2006, FPU Fellowship, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, Ph.D. Fellowship
2002-2004, Research and Teaching Training Fellowship, University of Barcelona, Ph.D. Fellowship
2000-2001, Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, University of La Laguna, Spain

Publications

  • Pascual M, Abasolo I, Mingorance-Le Meur A, Martinez A, del Rio JA, Wright CVE, Real FX, Soriano E (2007) Purkinje cell progenitors adopt an external granule cell-like phenotype in the absence of Ptf1a transcription factor expression, PNAS, 104 (12), 5193-8
  • Mingorance-Le Meur A, Zheng B, Soriano E, del Rio JA (2007) Involvement of the Myelin-Associated Inhibitor Nogo-A in Early Cortical Development and Neuronal Maturation, Cerebral Cortex
  • Mingorance-Le Meur A (2006) JNK gives axons a second chance, Journal of Neuroscience (Journal Club), 26 (47), 12104-12105
  • Burgaya F, Fontana X, Martínez A, Montolio M, Mingorance A, Simó S, del Río JA, Soriano E (Nov 2006) Semaphorin 6C leads to GSK-3-dependent growth cone collapse and redistributes after entorhino-hippocampal axotomy., Molecular and cellular neurosciences, 33 (3), 321-34 Abstract
  • Gil V, Nicolas O, Mingorance A, Ureña JM, Tang BL, Hirata T, Sáez-Valero J, Ferrer I, Soriano E, del Río JA (May 2006) Nogo-A expression in the human hippocampus in normal aging and in Alzheimer disease., Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology, 65 (5), 433-44 Abstract
  • Mingorance A, Solé M, Munetón V, Martínez A, Nieto-Sampedro M, Soriano E, del Río JA (Mar 2006) Regeneration of lesioned entorhino-hippocampal axons in vitro by combined degradation of inhibitory proteoglycans and blockade of Nogo-66/NgR signaling., The FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 20 (3), 491-3 Abstract
  • Gavín R, Braun N, Nicolas O, Parra B, Ureña JM, Mingorance A, Soriano E, Torres JM, Aguzzi A, del Río JA (Aug 2005) PrP(106-126) activates neuronal intracellular kinases and Egr1 synthesis through activation of NADPH-oxidase independently of PrPc., FEBS letters, 579 (19), 4099-106 Abstract
  • Mingorance A, Fontana X, Soriano E, Del Río JA (Jul 2005) Overexpression of myelin-associated glycoprotein after axotomy of the perforant pathway., Molecular and cellular neurosciences, 29 (3), 471-83 Abstract
  • Mingorance A, Garcia E, del Rio JA (2004) Nogo, myelin and axonal regeneration, Contributions to Science, 2 (4), 499-512
  • Mingorance A, Fontana X, Solé M, Burgaya F, Ureña JM, Teng FY, Tang BL, Hunt D, Anderson PN, Bethea JR, Schwab ME, Soriano E, del Río JA (May 2004) Regulation of Nogo and Nogo receptor during the development of the entorhino-hippocampal pathway and after adult hippocampal lesions., Molecular and cellular neurosciences, 26 (1), 34-49 Abstract
  • Mingorance A, Soriano-García E, del Rio JA, [Nogo-A functions during the development of the central nervous system and in the adult], Revista de neurologia, 39 (5), 440-6 Abstract

Languages

(Reading, Writing, Speaking)

English: (Fluent, Fluent, Fluent)
Spanish: (Fluent, Fluent, Fluent)
French: (Fluent, Basic, Functional)

Profile Details

Last Verified: 1/22/2008

COS Expertise ID #1231087
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/alemeur