During her Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Gina first completed a Master’s internship at University College Dublin, where she worked on kinesin localization using GFP tagging approaches. She then joined the Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon (IGFL) for her second-year Master’s internship in Chaker’s lab. This experience sparked her strong interest in neuroscience and in understanding how brain plasticity is shaped by physiological and environmental conditions. Motivated by these questions and eager to further explore the mechanisms underlying adult brain adaptability, she successfully passed the selective BMIC doctoral school competition and continued in the same lab as a PhD student. Her doctoral research focuses on how cigarette smoke exposure affects adult brain plasticity, with a particular emphasis on adult neurogenesis and the molecular mechanisms regulating neural stem cell dynamics in the adult brain. Using mouse models and advanced molecular and imaging approaches, her work aims to better understand how environmental factors reshape neurogenic processes and influence brain function. She is particularly motivated by bridging fundamental neuroscience discoveries with clinically relevant questions. Outside the lab, Gina is a passionate dancer with over 15 years of experience. She also enjoys travelling around the world, spending time with friends, and combining both whenever possible !!
Spatio-Temporal Logic of Adult Neurogenesis Lab