معرفی
Esther Klingler serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Neuroscience at KU Leuven's Faculty of Medicine and leads the Laboratory for Emotional Circuit Development at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research since September 2023. She holds additional memberships in the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain Research, KU Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), and KU Leuven Institute for Single Cell Omics (LISCO).
Her academic foundation includes a PhD from Université Pierre & Marie Curie (Paris) investigating cytoskeleton-associated proteins in axon guidance using transgenic mice, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Geneva under Prof. Denis Jabaudon where she pioneered the ConnectID barcoding method for neuronal projection mapping.
Dr. Klingler's research focuses on developmental mechanisms of emotional circuits, examining how intrinsic genetic programs and environmental experiences shape neuronal diversity in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Her lab integrates cutting-edge experimental techniques (transgenic models, single-cell sequencing) with computational approaches to identify neural cell types vulnerable in disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and dementia, with particular emphasis on sensorimotor connectivity governed by genes such as Sox11.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics applied to cortical development, with increasing emphasis on cross-species data integration (via pipelines like humous.org) and multi-omics approaches to model human brain diseases. Her work consistently bridges molecular identity with neural connectivity, uncovering principles of developmental timing and regional specification in emotional circuit formation.
Dr. Klingler has not received any publicly listed scientific awards according to available information.
She actively mentors three doctoral students, one master's student, and one postdoctoral researcher while securing substantial grant funding as promoter or co-promoter on seven active projects including Building Fear Circuits (2025-2028), Addressing Synaptic Dysfunction in Dementia (2025-2031), and Role of Amygdala in ASD Etiology (2024-2026), demonstrating strong leadership in both basic and translational neuroscience research.
The Laboratory for Emotional Circuit Development employs innovative methodologies including ConnectID barcoding, MAPseq, and scRNA-Seq to investigate how genetic and environmental factors interact during emotional network development, with current work exploring the developmental origins of anxiety-related behaviors and neural circuit vulnerabilities in neurodevelopmental disorders.
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