Altair Brito dos Santos

Altair Brito dos Santos is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. His work focuses on neuronal signaling mechanisms in sleep disorders associated with Parkinson's disease and neurodevelopmental encephalopathies.

Education Background:

• Undergraduate Degree in Physiotherapy (State University of Southwest of Bahia, Brazil)
• Master's Degree in Genetics (State University of Southwest of Bahia, Brazil)

Research Focus: Dr. dos Santos investigates sleep-arousal disturbances in Parkinson's disease using advanced electrophysiological techniques including patch clamp recordings, calcium imaging, and immunohistochemistry. His research examines how α-synuclein pathology affects sleep-controlling neurons, with particular attention to sex-dependent differences and GABAergic neuroprotection mechanisms. Recent work explores neuronal hyperexcitability in STXBP1 encephalopathy and calcium dysregulation in Parkinson's patients.

Publication Trends: Analysis of his 15 publications (2022-2024) reveals concentrated research in three interconnected domains: (1) molecular mechanisms of α-synuclein toxicity in sleep circuits, (2) sex-specific neuronal vulnerabilities in neurodegeneration, and (3) electrophysiological characterization of neurodevelopmental encephalopathies. His work consistently bridges basic neurophysiology with clinical implications for Parkinson's disease sleep disorders.

Research Environment: Works within the Neuronal Signalling research group at Blegdamsvej 3B campus, utilizing advanced neuroscience methodologies including in vitro electrophysiology, molecular imaging, and translational biomarker analysis. Collaborates extensively with neurology and genetics researchers across Danish and international institutions.