Daniella Dwir

Biography

I am a trained neurobiologist and senior research associate in the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland. I completed her Master studies in Medical Biology with a specialization in Neuroscience in the University of Lausanne. I joined the team of Prof. Kim Q. Do for her PhD thesis, which was co-directed by the Prof. Rabindra Tirouvanziam of the Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
My research underscores the interaction between redox dysregulation and neuroinflammation as one critical pathophysiological hub in schizophrenia. I discovered, both in rodents and in schizophrenia patients, an underlying mechanism related to MMP9/RAGE pathways during early brain development that leads to parvalbumin interneurons microcircuit impairments, at the basis of cognitive deficits in the disease.
My current translational research is aimed at a mechanism-based biomarker profile indicating dysregulation of the redox-inflammation interaction, paving the way for early detection, stratification of patients, and the ability to monitor potential drug effects. The focus of my research is to consider novel treatment approaches, based on the highlighted mechanism, but also on the effect of antioxidant and cognitive therapies.
I am currently supported by the “Adrian & Simone Frutiger foundation Grant”, which underwent external reviewing. Finally, I recently had the great privilege to receive the “Young Investigator Award” from the Swiss Society of Biological Psychiatry for my overall work.