Simon d'Aquin, PhD
Medical Science Liaison at Ziemer Ophtalmic Systems
Zürich, Zürich, Schweiz
1732 Follower:innen
500+ Kontakte
Info
📍 10 yrs+ experience in academic and pharmaceutical research and development
📍 Leading a preclinical research project at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
📍 Extensive hands-on expertise with modern neuroscience tools.
📍 Proactive in establishing and nurturing trustful partnerships across fields
☕️ Let’s have a virtual coffee chat
https://calendly.com/simondaquin/coffee-chat
🎯 Some of my achievements
🏅 I received a Postdoc Grant in 2023 (115k CHF) to study a neuronal population in the context of pain
🏅 I was awarded with the Ed Fischer Prize 2023 for best PhD thesis
🏅 I published the results of my PhD work in top-tier journals (d'Aquin et al., Science 2022)
💬 Recommendations
"Simon brought top notch expertise in mouse learning paradigms and in sophisticated in vivo recording techniques to my group."
"I was extremely impressed to see how rigorously and precisely Simon solved a lot of the technical challenges he encountered, something which I have rarely seen before"
"I was very impressed by his curiosity and by the fact that he was very quick and precise to identify and ask the important open questions."
💭 More about me
📍I am a curious learner, quick to adapt to new environments
📍I like solving problems and proposing realisitic solutions
📍Open-minded team player, empathetic to the needs of others
📍Responsible and reliable, building trust with partners
👨🔬 Experience
Postdoctoral researcher at UZH, neuronal mechanisms of acute and chronic pain (2021-current)
Research associate at NIBR, high-content screen for new autophagy pathway targets (2013-2014)
🎓 Education
👩🏻🔬 𝗣𝗵𝗗, neuronal mechanisms of learning and memory (2021)
🥼 Engineering degree in Biotechnology (2013) 16.9/20
🔓 Personal
🎾 Playing squash in a club, 🥾 hiking in the Alps
✈️ I love travelling and learning about different cultures
📚 Reading everything and anything, from classics to high-octane sci-fi
Artikel von Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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Is my research manuscript ready for submission?
Is my research manuscript ready for submission?
Von Simon d'Aquin, PhD
Beiträge
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What are the best ways to project confidence when presenting to a group?
I would decribe myself as an introvert. For people like me who are naturally uncomfortable speaking in public, stress will take away a lot of the necessary mental ressources to adopt the right body language and tone while giving a presentation. It is just too much to do all at once and as a result I tend to speak too fast to "get it over with". In case nervousness is getting the best out of you, I suggest to first focus on speaking slowly, that has been working well for me at least. Not only does it help with message delivery, it gives you time to calm down while you adapt to a slower pace and puts you back in control by freeing some resources for your brain to do other things.
Aktivitäten
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😎 Un beau programme opératoire avec 17 procédures #Lasik bilatérales en laser femtoseconde Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems sur la matinée. Merci au Dr…
😎 Un beau programme opératoire avec 17 procédures #Lasik bilatérales en laser femtoseconde Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems sur la matinée. Merci au Dr…
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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Such a great time in International Association for the Study of Pain World Congress in Amsterdam 😃 So happy to present my data and see all pain…
Such a great time in International Association for the Study of Pain World Congress in Amsterdam 😃 So happy to present my data and see all pain…
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
Berufserfahrung
Ausbildung
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University of Basel
PhD Neurobiology summa cumme laude
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PhD conducted at the Friedrich-Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) in Basel
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Ecole supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS)
Engineer degree Biotechnology 16.9 / 20
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Biotechnology engineer school (equivalent to M. Sc)
Trinational teaching: French, English, German
Classes and practicals in France, Germany and Switzerland with students from each country -
Bescheinigungen und Zertifikate
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Study Director of the Institute (LTK2, Education for persons supervising animal experiments)
University of Zurich
Ausgestellt:
Ehrenamt
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Workshop Instructor
CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme
– 2 Monaten
Education
I taught in vivo neuronal recordings and neuronal activity data analysis techniques to Scientists at a competitive European-wide training course
Veröffentlichungen
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c-Maf-positive spinal cord neurons are critical elements of a dorsal horn circuit for mechanical hypersensitivity in neuropathy
Cell Reports
• Silencing of c-MafEX neurons has no impact on acute pain, while their activation induces pain
• Silencing of c-MafEX neurons in neuropathic mice reduces hypersensitivity and allodynia
• Inhibitory parvalbumin neurons silence c-MafEX neurons in naive mice
• c-MafEX neurons can directly activate deep dorsal horn projection neuronsAndere Autor:innenVeröffentlichung anzeigen -
Compartmentalized dendritic plasticity during associative learning
Science
Abstract:
Experience-dependent changes in behavior are mediated by long-term functional modifications in brain circuits. Activity-dependent plasticity of synaptic input is a major underlying cellular process. Although we have a detailed understanding of synaptic and dendritic plasticity in vitro, little is known about the functional and plastic properties of active dendrites in behaving animals. Using deep brain two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we investigated how sensory responses in amygdala…Abstract:
Experience-dependent changes in behavior are mediated by long-term functional modifications in brain circuits. Activity-dependent plasticity of synaptic input is a major underlying cellular process. Although we have a detailed understanding of synaptic and dendritic plasticity in vitro, little is known about the functional and plastic properties of active dendrites in behaving animals. Using deep brain two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we investigated how sensory responses in amygdala principal neurons develop upon classical fear conditioning, a form of associative learning. Fear conditioning induced differential plasticity in dendrites and somas regulated by compartment-specific inhibition. Our results indicate that learning-induced plasticity can be uncoupled between soma and dendrites, reflecting distinct synaptic and microcircuit-level mechanisms that increase the computational capacity of amygdala circuits.Andere Autor:innenVeröffentlichung anzeigen -
Adaptive disinhibitory gating by VIP interneurons permits associative learning.
Nature Neuroscience
Abstract:
Learning drives behavioral adaptations necessary for survival. While plasticity of excitatory projection neurons during associative learning has been extensively studied, little is known about the contributions of local interneurons. Using fear conditioning as a model for associative learning, we found that behaviorally relevant, salient stimuli cause learning by tapping into a local microcircuit consisting of precisely connected subtypes of inhibitory interneurons. By employing…Abstract:
Learning drives behavioral adaptations necessary for survival. While plasticity of excitatory projection neurons during associative learning has been extensively studied, little is known about the contributions of local interneurons. Using fear conditioning as a model for associative learning, we found that behaviorally relevant, salient stimuli cause learning by tapping into a local microcircuit consisting of precisely connected subtypes of inhibitory interneurons. By employing deep-brain calcium imaging and optogenetics, we demonstrate that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing interneurons in the basolateral amygdala are activated by aversive events and provide a mandatory disinhibitory signal for associative learning. Notably, VIP interneuron responses during learning are strongly modulated by expectations. Our findings indicate that VIP interneurons are a central component of a dynamic circuit motif that mediates adaptive disinhibitory gating to specifically learn about unexpected, salient events, thereby ensuring appropriate behavioral adaptations.Andere Autor:innenVeröffentlichung anzeigen -
Selective VPS34 inhibitor blocks autophagy and uncovers a role for NCOA4 in ferritin degradation and iron homeostasis in vivo
Nature Cell Biology
Cells rely on autophagy to clear misfolded proteins and damaged organelles to maintain cellular homeostasis. In this study we use the new autophagy inhibitor PIK-III to screen for autophagy substrates. PIK-III is a selective inhibitor of VPS34 that binds a unique hydrophobic pocket not present in related kinases such as PI(3)Kα. PIK-III acutely inhibits autophagy and de novo lipidation of LC3, and leads to the stabilization of autophagy substrates. By performing ubiquitin-affinity…
Cells rely on autophagy to clear misfolded proteins and damaged organelles to maintain cellular homeostasis. In this study we use the new autophagy inhibitor PIK-III to screen for autophagy substrates. PIK-III is a selective inhibitor of VPS34 that binds a unique hydrophobic pocket not present in related kinases such as PI(3)Kα. PIK-III acutely inhibits autophagy and de novo lipidation of LC3, and leads to the stabilization of autophagy substrates. By performing ubiquitin-affinity proteomics on PIK-III-treated cells we identified substrates including NCOA4, which accumulates in ATG7-deficient cells and co-localizes with autolysosomes. NCOA4 directly binds ferritin heavy chain-1 (FTH1) to target the iron-binding ferritin complex with a relative molecular mass of 450,000 to autolysosomes following starvation or iron depletion. Interestingly, Ncoa4−/− mice exhibit a profound accumulation of iron in splenic macrophages, which are critical for the reutilization of iron from engulfed red blood cells. Taken together, the results of this study provide a new mechanism for selective autophagy of ferritin and reveal a previously unappreciated role for autophagy and NCOA4 in the control of iron homeostasis in vivo.
Andere Autor:innenVeröffentlichung anzeigen
Kurse
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Design and Intrepretation of Clinical Trials
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Education for persons supervising animal experiments Module 2
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Auszeichnungen/Preise
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Candoc Grant
University of Zurich
I have been awarded with the Forschungskredit Candoc grant by the University of Zurich, amounting to 115k CHF.
This grant will allow me to pursue a research project that aims to better understand the role of spinally projecting neurons in the brain during sensation. -
Ed Fischer Prize
Friedrich Miescher Institute
Simon D’Aquin, a former PhD student in the Lüthi lab and now a postdoc at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, was awarded the Ed Fischer Prize 2021 for his thesis entitled “Compartment-specific plasticity in the lateral amygdala during fear learning”.
The committee was impressed by the quality of his written thesis and how he overcame technical challenges to perform his experiments that revealed fundamental insight into the in vivo cellular and circuit…Simon D’Aquin, a former PhD student in the Lüthi lab and now a postdoc at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, was awarded the Ed Fischer Prize 2021 for his thesis entitled “Compartment-specific plasticity in the lateral amygdala during fear learning”.
The committee was impressed by the quality of his written thesis and how he overcame technical challenges to perform his experiments that revealed fundamental insight into the in vivo cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying associative learning.
Prize award: CHF 2000
Sprachen
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English
Verhandlungssicher
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German
Gute Kenntnisse
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French
Muttersprache oder zweisprachig
Organisationen
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EMWA
member
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Faculty opinions
Associate Faculty member
–Heute
Weitere Aktivitäten von Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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It was our pleasure to have Dr Satish Srinivasan, Ayrshire Eye Clinic, UK, in our operating room today. We discussed on various topics, including the…
It was our pleasure to have Dr Satish Srinivasan, Ayrshire Eye Clinic, UK, in our operating room today. We discussed on various topics, including the…
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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This young lady presented with diffuse corneal oedema post ICL procedure (performed 2 years earlier elsewhere). Clinical records seem to indicate…
This young lady presented with diffuse corneal oedema post ICL procedure (performed 2 years earlier elsewhere). Clinical records seem to indicate…
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Acute hydrops in Keratoconus, managed with compression suturing in the area of break in DM and PDL, complete air fill with inferior PI. Day 1 post…
Acute hydrops in Keratoconus, managed with compression suturing in the area of break in DM and PDL, complete air fill with inferior PI. Day 1 post…
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Ripasudil induced Honeycomb Epitheliopathy
Ripasudil induced Honeycomb Epitheliopathy
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Pachychoroid disease: review and update This update to the 2018 review summarises recent findings on clinical observations and hypotheses related to…
Pachychoroid disease: review and update This update to the 2018 review summarises recent findings on clinical observations and hypotheses related to…
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You don’t see hyperopic keratoconus very often. Here is a patient that is 4 weeks post op from topography-guided PTK combined with CXL. Amazing…
You don’t see hyperopic keratoconus very often. Here is a patient that is 4 weeks post op from topography-guided PTK combined with CXL. Amazing…
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Ideal vault with Visian ICL central flow
Ideal vault with Visian ICL central flow
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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12 years post DMEK for pseudophakic bullous keratopathy, UCVA 20/40, BSCVA -1.25 x 30 20/20.
12 years post DMEK for pseudophakic bullous keratopathy, UCVA 20/40, BSCVA -1.25 x 30 20/20.
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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🧠 300k Networking Neurons 🌟 The image below shows a microfluidic device housing 300,000 interconnected neurons in two separate populations. Each…
🧠 300k Networking Neurons 🌟 The image below shows a microfluidic device housing 300,000 interconnected neurons in two separate populations. Each…
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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Tackling extreme corneal ectasia with large diameter ALK / DALK…(12mm diameter tuck in ALK done in this case)
Tackling extreme corneal ectasia with large diameter ALK / DALK…(12mm diameter tuck in ALK done in this case)
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD
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Get inspiring insights from internationally renowned clinical experts on low energy femtosecond lasers in refractive, therapeutic and cataract…
Get inspiring insights from internationally renowned clinical experts on low energy femtosecond lasers in refractive, therapeutic and cataract…
Beliebt bei Simon d'Aquin, PhD