Anne Verstegen

I am a neuroscientist with a broad background in neuroscience research and with specific training in molecular and cellular biology and behavioral and systems neuroscience. I have expertise in stereotaxic surgery techniques and the design and execution of experimental paradigms employing cutting edge neuroscience techniques, and mouse genetics.

I obtained my Ph.D. degree within the Neuroscience and Brain Technologies Department at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). My PhD thesis research involved elucidating signaling pathways and protein kinases that control synaptic vesicles to release their neurotransmitter content. Following conferral of my PhD I joined Dr. Bradford Lowell’s laboratory at BIDMC/ Harvard Medical School as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In the Lowell lab, I focused on understanding the ‘neural circuit basis’ for the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure, with a specific emphasis on the identification and characterization of neuronal cell subpopulations within specific nuclei of the hypothalamus. My training include the utilization of genetically engineered mice in combination with AAV technology, opto- and chemogenetics, and in vivo fiber photometry. My overarching goal was to link the activity of defined subpopulations of neurons with specific neurobehavioral and physiological responses.

My current research interests include the neural control of bladder function. Because disturbances in central nervous system regulation of bladder and urethral sphincter function can cause or contribute to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), understanding these control circuits may lead to potential therapies. My lab’s research projects focus on identifying neuron populations involved in successful bladder functioning, their regulation by upstream targets and circuits and whether inhibitory input to this void-triggering pathway may allow urinary continence. Our studies aim to reveal how forebrain, brainstem and spinal inputs converge in the control of the bladder.