Branco Lab launches exciting new research programme exploring how genetics and experience shape threat sensitivity in the brain

Professor Tiago Branco has secured a Wellcome Discovery Award to support a bold and ambitious seven-year research programme at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre. With this funding, the Branco Lab will investigate how the brain sets sensitivity to threat, and how both genetics and experience shape this threshold. By uncovering the mechanisms of threat sensitivity in the brain, the research could pave the way for new therapeutic targets for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“I am delighted to receive this Wellcome Discovery Award. It is a testament to the lab and will allow us to pursue an exciting new research direction. I am very thankful to all members of my lab, and in particular Dr Dario Campagner, whose contributions were instrumental in securing this award,” said Professor Tiago Branco, Group Leader at SWC.
 

The Branco Lab will use the award to study different species of mice – some that evolved to live commensally with humans, and others that remain largely wild with very little human interaction. These evolutionary differences led to significant variation in threat sensitivity. Through genetic mapping, the researchers will investigate the genes that lead to changes in the brain that impact threat sensitivity. 

“There are countless ways the brain can alter threat sensitivity, so we are going to look at the problem through the eyes of evolution. We hope to understand what is changing in the brain by crossing different species of mice and identifying genes associated with the trait of threat sensitivity,” explained Professor Branco.

Researchers in the Branco Lab primarily focus on defensive behaviours, such as escape responses, which are innate. This means that they can study the underlying genetics as threat sensitivity is encoded in the genome. However, they will also need to ensure that the mice’s experiences are the same. To enable this, they will use cutting-edge technology developed for the Aeon platform, a new open-source system developed at SWC to measure brain activity and behaviour in a naturalistic environment. 

“I’m very excited that this award will enable us to do comparative neuroscience. We are going to compare different species of mice by recording brain activity, studying brain anatomy and looking at their genes. We hope this will allow us to identify genetic components to threat sensitivity that may also be present in humans,” said Professor Branco. 

The team hope that understanding the mechanisms of threat sensitivity will result in a way to modulate threat sensitivity up and down. This could be important for anxiety and PTSD as these conditions currently have limited treatment options, with existing treatments based around inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin. This research could lead to the identification of new therapeutic targets for these conditions.

To find out more, please visit the Branco Lab page.

About the Wellcome Discovery Awards

The Wellcome Discovery Award scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health and wellbeing. The average size of a Wellcome Discovery Award is £3.5 million, and the average duration is 7 years. For more information, please visit the Wellcome website. 

Media contact

For more information or to speak to Tiago Branco, please contact:

April Cashin-Garbutt 
Head of Research Communications and Engagement, Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
E: a.cashin-garbutt@ucl.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)20 3108 8028