I received my Bachelor degree in Biotechnology at the University of Udine, where I carried out my thesis in the field of Neurodegenerative diseases. During my Master in Neuroscience at the University of Trieste and an Internship at the University of Helsinki, I deepened my knowledge in Neurodevelopment. Now I’m studying the molecular mechanisms involved in inhibitory neurons diversification at different stages of development.

After exploring the world of genomics in my masters, I pursued my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Gert Jan C Veenstra, at Radboud Institute of Molecular Life science studying the role of epigenetics in cell identity and lineage commitment in early embryo development. Currently I am working as a post doc in the Mayerlab exploring the underlying mechanisms controlling interneuron development, diversity and function. On top of science, I love to dance, spend time with family and friends, travel, try different cuisines (am a proud foodie) and enjoy listening to music.

Connor employs single-cell techniques to unravel how interneurons acquire specialized fates and cortical connectivity. He joined the mayerlab in 2023 to complete his M.Sc. from the University of Munich’s Graduate School of Neurosciences (GSN), and completed a B.S. in biochemistry with honors from the University of Chicago in 2016. Connor previously held positions in healthcare and biotech consulting as Manager of Strategy & Analytics at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Senior Consultant at Blueprint Research Group (now Trinity Life Sciences) in Chicago, USA. In his free time, he enjoys reading science fiction, playing guitar, and exploring the outdoors through cycling, skiing and sailing.

I received an undergraduate degree in physiology from the Lomonosov University in Moscow (Russia), a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Genoa (Italy), and did a postdoc in the laboratory of Prof. Bernardo Rudy at the NYU Neuroscience Institute (USA). In the Mayerlab, I am developing tools to interrogate the function of transcription factors during cell-type differentiation.

Christian Mayer studied biology at the University of Konstanz and received his PhD from the University of Hamburg, where his doctoral thesis at ZMNH was awarded the Gebhard Koch PhD Prize in Biochemistry and Neurobiology. As an EMBO Long-Term Fellow at the NYU Neuroscience Institute and later at the Broad Institute, Dr. Mayer pioneered the use of single-cell RNA sequencing to study how gene expression during development leads to the emergence of cortical interneuron diversity. In 2018, Dr. Mayer was awarded an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council, and in 2022, he was selected as an EMBO Young Investigator.