Renato Socodato
Glial Cell Biology
Junior Researcher
Renato Socodato graduated in Biology, obtained a master`s degree in Neuroimmunology and then a PhD in Neurosciences. During his PhD Renato studied the function of cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases in regulating neuronal survival and death during neuronal development. During the PhD he also became interested in tyrosine kinase signaling controlling microglial cell function in the nervous tissue. In early 2014 Renato joined the Relvas lab at IBMC as a post-doc fellow with an individual FCT grant to study the impact of the interplay between small GTPases of the Rho family and cytosolic tyrosine kinases of the SFK family in controlling microglial cell function in the healthy brain and during brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Recent publications from our team show critical roles for the tyrosine kinase Src in controlling microglial cell function and microglia-associated neuronal damage in the CNS.