American psychiatrist and glial biologist
Anna V. Molofsky is an American psychiatrist and glial biologist. She is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at UC San Francisco. Her lab currently studies the communication between astrocytes, microglia, and neurons to understand how these signals regulate synaptic development in health and disease.
Early life and education.
Molofsky completed her undergraduate education at Amherst College, majoring in neuroscience and chemistry. Next, she pursued an MD-PhD at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor through the NIH funded Medical Scientist Training Program. During her PhD, Molofsky focused her training in CNS stem cell renewal and investigated glial heterogeneity under the mentorship of Sean Morrison. Molofsky then continued her clinical training with a residency in adult psychiatry at UC San Francisco followed by postdoctoral training in the lab of David Rowitch.
Career and research.
In 2015, Molofsky started her lab at UC San Francisco. The Molofsky Lab investigates the communication between astrocytes, microglia, and neurons and how this communication shapes synapse formation during development. Her lab discovered a novel function of Interleukin-33 in which astrocytic release of this cytokine helps regulate microglial synaptic pruning during development and maintain synapse homeostasis. Molofsky is also dedicated to characterizing astrocyte heterogeneity and further understanding their unique roles in neural circuit function and in neuroinflammation.
References.
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