Agnès Hémar (Biology)
Agnès Hémar |
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Work
Agnès' field of research is neuro-cell biology. She is interested in synapses - the connections between neurons. Synapses are very plastic, which means that they change depending on brain activity. And it is this plasticity that supports memory and learning processes. Agnès works on the intracellular traffic of glutamate receptors that are involved in mnesic capacities. She is interested in what is going on during the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) of Alzheimer's disease: MCI refers to the borderland between normal ageing and dementia. During this phase of the disease synaptic transmission is altered, so Agnès' group has looked for modifications in synaptic composition that could be responsible for the mnesic deficits observed in patients with MCI. To do this they have constructed a transgenic mice model of Alzheimer's disease, and isolated neurons from rat and mice brains. The project involves cell culture, molecular biology, biochemistry and microscopy (i.e., current cell biology tools). However, Agnès' job involves mostly reading, writing and management and less experimentation!
Work environment
Agnès is a Group Leader at the CNRS Institute in Bordeaux, France. She works in a lab that is composed of three groups. The two other group leaders are men. All three of them set up their labs together and share lab space and materials. Agnès has a relatively small team (up to six people). The lab is part of the Neuroscience Institute.
Family
Agnès has three kids (10, 15, and 16). Her husband is Full Professor in Bio-computing at the University of Bordeaux 2. Although he works a lot, he provides Agnès with all the support she needs to be able to attend meetings or work late and at weekends. She also has a lot of help at home (32 hours a week).
Free time? Yes, to go to the cinema with family or friends (the family has no TV); read literature (she belongs to a book club); and for sport (twice a week)!