Damien Marechal, Ph.D.

  • Research Associate, Casaccia Lab, Neuroscience Initiative

Dr. Damien Marechal obtained his B.Sc. in physiology and cellular biology (2007) from University of Orleans (France) followed by a M.Sc. in developmental and integral biology, speciality reproduction biology (2009) from University Francois Rabelais of Tours (France). He achieved his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University Blaise Pascal of Strasbourg (2012), in the laboratory of Dr. Yann Herault (I.G.B.M.C., France), where he demonstrated the involvement of the Abcg1-U2af1 genetic locus, and particularly the key role of Cbs gene, in memory impairments observed in several mouse models of Down syndrome (award of Young Researcher of the Year from J.Lejeune Foundation 2012). Then, he focused his first post-doctoral research on Alzheimers disease (AD), deciphering the contribution of BIN1 as a risk factor gene in the development of the late onset for of AD. To improve his knowledge in Down syndrome field, he moved back to his previous research and be part of the emergence of a new method to engineer genetically modified rodents named CRISMERE. Thanks to this technique, he developed new rat models of Down syndrome to better comprehend the cognitive disturbances described by Down syndrome people.

In 2019, he joined the team of Pr. Patrizia Casaccia as research associate, to develop new techniques contributing to decipher the mechanisms of neuroinflammation and myelin repair in CNS.

Research Interests

His research combined in vitro and in vivo functional experiments to decipher the mechanisms of neuroinflammation and myelin repair in CNS using optogenetic, AAV delivery, in-vivo imaging and behavior.

Publications

D. Marechal, D. K. Dansu, K. Castro, J. Patzig, L. Magri, B. Inbar, M. Gacias, S. Moyon, P. Casaccia. N-Myc Downstream Regulated Family Member 1 (NDRG1) Is Enriched in Myelinating Oligodendrocytes and Impacts Myelin Degradation in Response to Demyelination. Glia. 2021 Oct 23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.24108.

S. Moyon, R. Frawley, D. Marechal, D. Huang, K. L. H. Marshall-Phelps, L. Kegel, S. M. K. Bøstrand, B. Sadowski, Y.-H. Jiang, D. A. Lyons, W. Möbius, P. Casaccia. TET1-Mediated DNA Hydroxymethylation Regulates Adult Remyelination in Mice. Nat Commun, 2021, 12 (1), 3359. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23735-3.

K. Veerasammy, Y. X. Chen, S. Sauma, M. Pruvost, D. K. Dansu, T. Choetso, T. Zhong, D. Marechal, P. Casaccia, R. Abzalimov, Y. He. Sample Preparation for Metabolic Profiling Using MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging. JoVE, 2020, No. 166, 62008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3791/62008.
headshot: damien marechal

Phone Number

212.413.3197