Konstantinos Meletis

Konstantinos Meletis

Professor
Telephone: +46852482907
Visiting address: Solnavägen 9, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C4 Neurovetenskap, C4 Forskning Meletis, 171 77 Stockholm

About me

  • Konstantinos Meletis is Professor of Systems Neuroscience in the Department of Neuroscience.

    Selected academic honours, awards and prizes

    • 2024 – The Arvid Carlsson Foundation Prize
    • 2015 – William K. Bowes Jr. Foundation Associate Professor Award
    • 2013 – Framtidens Forskningsledare, FFL5, Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning
    • 2011 – William K. Bowes Jr. Foundation Assistant Professor Award
    • 2010 – Marie Curie Reintegration Grant FP7 (EU)
    • 2010 – NARSAD Young Investigator Award (USA)

Research

  • Investigation of the organization and function of brain circuits and neuron types that regulate motivated behaviors and decision-making, including the circuit and cellular mechanisms underlying dysfunction in mouse models of stress or mood disorders.

Selected publications

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2025 - 31 December 2028
    Action selection, decision-making and cognitive flexibility are critical brain functions for humans and other animals in order to thrive and survive in a complex environment. The frontal cortex and the basal ganglia are thought to control selection of appropriate actions, evaluate their outcome, and update behaviors accordingly. Degeneration of the dopamine system is a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and in the prodromal phases of the disease, cognitive and emotional behaviors are affected before the emergence of severe motor dysfunction. We hypothesize that motor and non-motor/motivated behaviors are shaped by the activity of distinct dopamine subtypes, where discrete aspects of motivated behaviors are regulated by different dopamine neuron subtypes and their interactions with striatal compartments and neuron types. In this project, we will investigate the function of Anxa1+ dopamine neurons for learning new motor skills, particularly fine motor actions like reaching and grasping, and cognitive flexibility during choice tasks – and define their role in the manifestation of cognitive and motor learning impairments in prodromal PD. Our aim is to define how specialized interactions between neurons subtypes in the dopamine system and the striatum control motivated behaviors and learning, with the long-term aim to establish a mechanistic understanding of how the organized connectivity between molecularly defined subregions and neuron types shapes complex behaviors.
  • Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
    1 January 2020 - 1 January 2025
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2024
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2018 - 31 December 2021
  • Optogenetic dissection of limbic circuits
    Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
    1 January 2014 - 31 December 2018
  • ERA-NET NEURON Mental Disorders RDmaria aDBS
    Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2014 - 31 December 2016
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2013 - 31 December 2017

Employments

  • Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 2021-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2015
  • Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 2006
  • Master Of Medical Science, Karolinska Institutet, 2000

News from KI

Events from KI