Natasha Bloch
Natasha Bloch
Ph.D. en Genética Evolutiva, University Of Chicago, Estados Unidos
Trajectory
Research
- Understanding how our brain produces different behaviors to appropriately respond to thousands of social stimuli is a crucial question in modern neuroscience. In general, behaviors are mediated by changes in neuronal activity in the brain. When an external stimulus is perceived, rapid changes in the expression of hundreds of genes (the neurogenomic response) are triggered, generating neuronal activity.
- Our research program aims to understand the neurogenomic response underlying social behavior and social behavior disorders. We study how genes are turned on and off in different parts of the brain in response to various social and mating stimuli, and how individual differences in cognitive abilities can affect the processing of social stimuli in the brain. We conduct our research on the guppy *Poecilia reticulata*, a highly social freshwater fish and thus an ideal experimental model for studying social behavior.
- Our research aims to generate a coherent and integrative model of the molecular mechanisms behind social behavior and social behavior disorders, helping us discover how our brain is capable of producing different behaviors in response to ever-changing social stimuli.
Education
Postdoctoral in Neurogenomics
- NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- University College London
- United Kingdom
- 2018
Postdoctoral in Neurogenomics
- Marie-Curie Fellow of the European Union
- University College London
- United Kingdom
- 2017
PhD in Evolutionary Genetics
- University of Chicago
- United States
- 2014
Master's in Ecology, Biodiversity, and Evolution
- Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (INA P-G)
- France
- 2005
Bachelor's in Biology
- Universidad de los Andes
- Colombia
- 2004