Rodrigo A. Cunha
European neuroscience institute
Network of European Neuroscience Institutes (ENI-NET)
Spain
Biography
Professor Rodrigo A. Cunha The Center for Neuroscience Coimbra – The Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) Coimbra Rodrigo A. Cunha is an Associated Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra and Principal Investigator at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra (CNC). He is part of the Steering Committee of the European Neuroscience Campus and the National representative of the Network of European Neuroscience Institutes. He heads the group ‘Purines at CNC’, focusing on caffeine neuroprotection and purinergic modulation; his group is constituted by 5 resident PhD researchers, 1 technician, 9 post-docs and 11 PhD students. He has published over 175 papers with an h factor of 47. He has trained over 25 PhD students and 10 post-doctoral fellows.
Research Interest
Neuromodulation by adenosine and ATP in the nervous system: adenosine and ATP receptors (expression, binding characteristics, coupling to transducing systems, desensitisation), formation and inactivation of ATP and adenosine, physiological roles (control of neurotransmitter release, of ion channels and of synaptic transmission and plasticity) and role in physio-pathology (aging, hypoxia, epilepsy, diabetic neuropathies, stress, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, neuro-inflammation).
