Cristiana Cruceanu

Assistant Professor in the department of Physiology and Pharmacology and group leader for the Developmental and Translational Neurobiology research group. I received my PhD from McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 2016. My doctoral work addressed questions regarding genetic, transcriptional, and epigenetic mechanisms in adult bipolar disorder and major depression using data-driven approaches at different molecular biology levels (DNA, RNA, and epigenetic mechanisms) in large cohorts. I had particular interests in rare genetic variation and response to treatment with lithium in bipolar disorder. During my postdoctoral fellowship, I delved deeper into the molecular mechanisms driving negative mental health outcomes at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany. Using state-of-the-art in vitro models of early developing brain (induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cerebral organoids), single-cell multi-omics, multiple high-throughput approaches, and extensively characterized human cohorts, my work shed light on cell-type-specific effects of stress biology on neurodevelopmental outcomes. I had particular interests in the prenatal period and metabolism of glucocorticoids like cortisol and their receptors.

The research group I lead at KI, Developmental and Translational Neurobiology at FyFa, focuses on understanding risk and resilience mechanisms during early development along the placenta-brain axis. 

We are grateful to receive funding from:

Swedish Brain Foundation (Hjärnfonden)

Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF)

KI Research Incubator (KIRI)
Åke Wibergs Stiftelse
Harald and Greta Jaenssons Foundation
Swedish Research Council (VR)
Lundbeck Foundation
KI Doctoral Education (KID)
Brain, Behavior and Immunity Foundation (NARSAD)
International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)
Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg Prize
Strategic Research Area Neuroscience (StratNeuro)
KI Committee for Research
KI Faculty Fund

Our lab’s research aims to define the molecular mechanisms underpinning how the environment impacts human brain development, and the long-term outcomes of these exposures on mental health – whether negative (risk) or positive (resilience). It is becoming increasingly clear that significant behavioural dysfunctions and long-term offspring vulnerabilities, as well as resilience mechanisms, can be traced back to maternal prenatal exposures. The fundamental questions behind our research are:
(A) What molecular factors shape in-utero human brain development, leading to life-long disease risk or resilience?
(B) How do environmental /stimuli/ interact with specialized cells and tissues to shape mental health outcomes?
The exposures at the forefront of our interest are stress hormones, psychotropic medications and inflammatory agents, given their interconnected
mechanisms of action and relevance in neuropsychiatric phenotypes. We employ 2D and 3D in vitro model systems of the brain and placenta, where we simulate environmental exposures to stress and inflammation biomarkers, psychotropic medications, etc. in addition to longitudinal cohorts and health register data via a diverse network of international collaborators. We are interested to shed light on cell-type specific mechanismsm and critical periods of vulnerabilty to environmental exposure in the development of future heath and illness.  

Lecturer in PhD Neuropharmacology course: “Environmental impacts on brain development and mental health” – Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Lecturer in MSc Translational Physiology and Pharmacology: “Neurophysiology”– Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Lecturer in MSc Translational Physiology and Pharmacology: “Mechanisms & experimental approaches”– Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Lecturer in BSc Biomedicine, Biomedical Pharmacology course: “Neurotransmitters and pharmacology” – Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
Lecturer in BSc Biomedicine, Biomedical Physiology course: “Autonomous Nervous system” – Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Lecturer in PhD Course on “Medical Developmental Biology” – Karolinska Institutet and University of Toronto, Canada
Lecturer in PhD Course on “Cellular models of the human CNS” – Gothenburg University, Sweden
Lecturer in MSc Biomedical Physiology course: “Neurophysiology” – KTH, Sweden