Biography:
Dr. Sirko studied first Medicine and then Biology & Biotechnology. During her PhD, she linked the neural stem cell (NSC) behavior of radial glia to the expression of receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase zeta/beta, and discovered on method for isolation of NSCs from the embryonic and adult brain. Upon graduation, she joined the Magdalena Götz’ Laboratory at Institute for Stem Cell Research (Helmholtz Center Munich) and the Department of Physiological Genomics at the LMU Munich. During her postdoctoral work, she investigated the endogenous plasticity of reactive astrocytes in the injured brain and identified the Sonic Hedgehog Signaling as a key determinant of NSC-‐properties in these cells. In March 2016, Dr.Sirko obtained venia legendi at the Medical Faculty of LMU, where she is currently Professor of Physiology. Her research focuses on elucidating key mechanisms of astroglial plasticity in the adult mouse and human brain, in the hope of activating post-‐injury mechanisms that instruct endogenous regeneration after brain injury.
Title : Astrocytes as the pivotal damage---management and repair cells after focal injury in the CNS