Prof. Shira Knafo
Molecular Neuroscience
Internationally recognized neuroscientist working at the interface of molecular, cellular, systems and computational neuroscience. Her research focuses on the mechanisms underlying learning, memory and cognitive disorders by integrating experimental neuroscience with network science and quantitative analyses.
Previous research experience includes international collaborations in Europe and the United States, with research on synaptic plasticity, epitranscriptomics, Alzheimer’s disease, whole-brain functional mapping and cognitive enhancement.
Doctor in Neuroscience (PhD) and medicine (MD).
Selected Publication (Scholar)
Vestring, S., et al. “The NMDA receptor subunit GluN2D is a potential target for rapid antidepressant action.” Nature Communications (2025).
Wojtas, M.N., et al. “Interplay between hippocampal TACR3 and systemic testosterone in regulating anxiety-associated synaptic plasticity.” Molecular Psychiatry 29, 686–703 (2024).
Verma, A., et al. “Targeting the overexpressed mitochondrial protein VDAC1 in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease protects against mitochondrial dysfunction and mitigates brain pathology.” Translational Neurodegeneration 11, 58 (2022).
Merino-Galán, L., et al. “Striatal synaptic bioenergetic and autophagic decline in premotor experimental parkinsonism.” Brain 145, 2092–2107 (2022).
Calleja-Felipe, M., et al. “FORTIS: a live-cell assay to monitor AMPA receptors using pH-sensitive fluorescence tags.” Translational Psychiatry 11, 324 (2021).
Sánchez-Puelles, C., et al. “PTEN activity defines an axis for plasticity at cortico-amygdala synapses and influences social behavior.” Cerebral Cortex 30, 505–524 (2020).
De la Fuente, I.M., et al. “Evidence of conditioned behavior in amoebae.” Nature Communications 10, 3690 (2019).
Knafo, S. and Esteban, J.A. “PTEN: local and global modulation of neuronal function in health and disease.” Trends in Neurosciences 40, 83–91 (2017).
Knafo, S., et al. “PTEN recruitment controls synaptic and cognitive function in Alzheimer’s models.” Nature Neuroscience 19, 443–453 (2016).
Knafo, S., et al. “Facilitation of AMPA receptor synaptic delivery as a molecular mechanism for cognitive enhancement.” PLOS Biology 10, e1001262 (2012).