Besides meetings, shared lunches and coffee breaks we actively participate in all other fun activities taking place in CTN. This includes Running Club, Friday Bar, retreats, and conference travels.
Division of Astrocyte Driven Ionostasis
The Untiet Laboratory
Our research
How astrocytes control brain ion balance – and why it matters for sleep, brain activity, and disease
Our research explores how astrocytes – specialized support cells in the brain – help maintain the delicate balance of ions that is essential for healthy brain function. Astrocytes are not just passive bystanders; they actively regulate the brain’s extracellular environment, influencing key ions such as potassium, chloride, and hydrogen ions.
We study how this ion regulation by astrocytes shapes important aspects of brain function, including neuronal activity, sleep architecture, and cerebral blood flow. For example, by controlling chloride levels, astrocytes can fine-tune inhibitory signaling in the brain, which affects how neurons communicate, and how sleep rhythms are maintained.
In addition to understanding their role in the healthy brain, we investigate how disruptions in astrocytic ion regulation contribute to neurological conditions such as epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases. By uncovering these mechanisms, we aim to better understand how the brain maintains stability – and what happens when that balance is lost.
Our Approach
To study how astrocytes regulate ion balance and influence brain function, we use advanced imaging and electrophysiological techniques. We view the brain as an integrated organ and combine fiber photometry with behavioral paradigms and sleep recordings to link astrocytic activity to brain states. Using two-photon microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging, we track dynamic changes in ions during sensory stimulation or movement. Additionally, we employ optogenetics to precisely manipulate specific cell types and use single-unit recordings to monitor neuronal responses at high resolution.
Group leader
Dr. rer. nat. Verena Untiet
Associate professor
Office: B208
Phone: +45 35 32 01 01
E-mail: Verena@sund.ku.dk
Novo Nordisk Foundation
Google Scholar
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1888-6378
Join us!
Does our research sound interesting to you? You are highly motivated, you are open and curious, eager to learn new techniques, a team player and interested in becoming a member of a young and dynamic, international team. Pre-requisites are good communications skills in English and preferably a FELASA certificate.
- Join us as “Danish” Master’s student: If you are enrolled at a Danish University, just reach out, and we discuss opportunities to conduct your Master’s thesis or an internship in our lab.
- Join us as “European” Master’s student: If you are enrolled at a European University and wish to conduct a research stay abroad, you are likely eligible for ERASMUS+ funding. Just reach out, and we will discuss your options.
- Join us as rotation or PhD student as part of the Neuroscience Academy Denmark (NAD): I am Column Collaborator of the research Column Brain States and Brain-Body Interactions. Just reach out, and we discuss lab rotation.
The Team
| Name | Title | Job responsibilities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonia Benita Beiersdorfer | Postdoc | Division of Astrocyte Driven Ionostasis |
|
| Katharina Franziska Baumgart | PhD Fellow | Division of Astrocyte Driven Ionostasis |
|
| Philip Alexander Gade Knak | PhD Fellow | Division of Astrocyte Driven Ionostasis |
|
| Saiyue Deng | Postdoc | Division of Glial Disease and Therapeutics |
|
| Verena Untiet | Associate Professor | Division of Astrocyte Driven Ionostasis |
|
| Yang Xue | PhD Fellow | Division of Glial Disease and Therapeutics |
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| Zuzanna Bojarowska | PhD Fellow | Division of Glial Disease and Therapeutics |
|