About her PhD project

The meninges represent neurotrophic and immunologically active membranes between the surface of the brain and the skull. Recent data show that during neurodevelopment, T cells and macrophages progressively populate the meninges, interact, and are likely to promote brain growth by providing neurotrophic factors. This occurs in parallel to a developmental increase of the intracranial pressure and an increase in extracellular matrix stifness that could promote those neurotrophic interactions. The objective of this project is to understand if the mecanical context of neurodevelopment favors meningeal macrophages (MM) interaction with T cells. To this end, we will combine physical and biological strategies to visualize, manipulate and characterize the interactions between MM and T cells in vitro, under different conditions of pressure and at different developmental times. We will extend our results in vivo in mice models. This pioneering work will help to understand how physical cues guide interactions between neuroimmune cells.