Dr. Victor Carrión
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
So I feel that we need to start looking at the biology of resilience. And one way that we've done that in my program is through a collaboration with Alex Urban from our department and from genetics and Carolyn Perman, who's in his lab and one of his postdocs. They work with organoids, and I don't know if you've mentioned organoids before to your audience.
So I feel that we need to start looking at the biology of resilience. And one way that we've done that in my program is through a collaboration with Alex Urban from our department and from genetics and Carolyn Perman, who's in his lab and one of his postdocs. They work with organoids, and I don't know if you've mentioned organoids before to your audience.
So I feel that we need to start looking at the biology of resilience. And one way that we've done that in my program is through a collaboration with Alex Urban from our department and from genetics and Carolyn Perman, who's in his lab and one of his postdocs. They work with organoids, and I don't know if you've mentioned organoids before to your audience.
Yes. So we have stem cells that can be converted to any type of cell under the appropriate nutrients and environments that we want to examine. So for a psychiatrist, of course, the interest is to turn them into neurons. And not only they can grow in a petri dish, but they grow suspended. So it's almost like a 3D. And Sergio uses the term assembloid for when he actually assembles them further.
Yes. So we have stem cells that can be converted to any type of cell under the appropriate nutrients and environments that we want to examine. So for a psychiatrist, of course, the interest is to turn them into neurons. And not only they can grow in a petri dish, but they grow suspended. So it's almost like a 3D. And Sergio uses the term assembloid for when he actually assembles them further.
Yes. So we have stem cells that can be converted to any type of cell under the appropriate nutrients and environments that we want to examine. So for a psychiatrist, of course, the interest is to turn them into neurons. And not only they can grow in a petri dish, but they grow suspended. So it's almost like a 3D. And Sergio uses the term assembloid for when he actually assembles them further.
to build more organ-specific. Mini-brains. Mini-brains is the term that I like, yes. So these mini-brains are these neurons that are growing in a circle like the brain, and they communicate with each other, and they are active with each other, and we can study.
to build more organ-specific. Mini-brains. Mini-brains is the term that I like, yes. So these mini-brains are these neurons that are growing in a circle like the brain, and they communicate with each other, and they are active with each other, and we can study.
to build more organ-specific. Mini-brains. Mini-brains is the term that I like, yes. So these mini-brains are these neurons that are growing in a circle like the brain, and they communicate with each other, and they are active with each other, and we can study.
So in conversations with Alex, and now that you all know my previous work with cortisol and all that, I was telling him and Carolyn, well, what would happen if we expose some of these organoids to cortisol? And, of course, we needed to come up with, oh, what would be the right amount, you know, that would mimic trauma.
So in conversations with Alex, and now that you all know my previous work with cortisol and all that, I was telling him and Carolyn, well, what would happen if we expose some of these organoids to cortisol? And, of course, we needed to come up with, oh, what would be the right amount, you know, that would mimic trauma.
So in conversations with Alex, and now that you all know my previous work with cortisol and all that, I was telling him and Carolyn, well, what would happen if we expose some of these organoids to cortisol? And, of course, we needed to come up with, oh, what would be the right amount, you know, that would mimic trauma.
So we also involved Robert Zavolsky to help us come up with a concentration that would be trauma-mimetic. And so we exposed a number of organoids to different levels of cortisol. For some of them, it was a trauma. For others, they were not exposed. Then half of that amount or much less of that amount was a trigger, the cue, right? So some had the trauma and the cues, some...
So we also involved Robert Zavolsky to help us come up with a concentration that would be trauma-mimetic. And so we exposed a number of organoids to different levels of cortisol. For some of them, it was a trauma. For others, they were not exposed. Then half of that amount or much less of that amount was a trigger, the cue, right? So some had the trauma and the cues, some...
So we also involved Robert Zavolsky to help us come up with a concentration that would be trauma-mimetic. And so we exposed a number of organoids to different levels of cortisol. For some of them, it was a trauma. For others, they were not exposed. Then half of that amount or much less of that amount was a trigger, the cue, right? So some had the trauma and the cues, some...
had no exposure, some only had the Q, and then we compare what was associated with really, well, the first thing that they needed to do was identify that these neurons actually had these glucocorticoid receptors. and that they were active, and they did have them, and they were active. So we looked through epigenetic analysis. We is the royal we, right? It's more Alex and Carolyn.
had no exposure, some only had the Q, and then we compare what was associated with really, well, the first thing that they needed to do was identify that these neurons actually had these glucocorticoid receptors. and that they were active, and they did have them, and they were active. So we looked through epigenetic analysis. We is the royal we, right? It's more Alex and Carolyn.
had no exposure, some only had the Q, and then we compare what was associated with really, well, the first thing that they needed to do was identify that these neurons actually had these glucocorticoid receptors. and that they were active, and they did have them, and they were active. So we looked through epigenetic analysis. We is the royal we, right? It's more Alex and Carolyn.
They look at the genes that were changed, that their activity changed because of this cortisol exposure. And through epigenetic analysis, which is this space, you know, between DNA and RNA and there's like methylation patterns and all that. And some genes activity changes. Some turn on, some turn off.
They look at the genes that were changed, that their activity changed because of this cortisol exposure. And through epigenetic analysis, which is this space, you know, between DNA and RNA and there's like methylation patterns and all that. And some genes activity changes. Some turn on, some turn off.