Scholars

Farhy, Isabella

Assistant Professor

Positions:

Assistant Professor, Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

Single Page Bio

Profile Summary

ifarhy@tamu.edu

Co-author Network

Map of Science

ORCID

0000-0002-3733-7120

overview

The Farhy lab studies the cross talk of two major cell types in the brain, neurons and astrocytes, focusing on how they shape synapse development and activity. Correct formation of synapses is crucial for normal brain function and synapse deficits have been implicated in most brain disorders, including autism, schizophrenia, major depression and Alzheimer's disease.

To investigate these interactions, we use rodents as model system, combining in vitro pure cell cultures with in vivo transgenic and knockout mice. These are analyzed using cutting-edge omics approaches such as mass-spectrometry, bulk and single cell RNAseq, as well as histology and functional assays.

We aim to uncover the cellular pathways activated in both neurons and astrocytes following their interaction at the synapse, leading to identification of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of synaptic dysfunctions in brain disorders.

selected publications

Academic Articles9

Farhy-Tselnicker, I., Boisvert, M. M., Liu, H., Dowling, C., Erikson, G. A., Blanco-Suarez, E., ... Allen, N. J. (2021). Activity-dependent modulation of synapse-regulating genes in astrocytes.. Elife. 10, e70514.
Farhy-Tselnicker, I., Dowling, C., & Allen, N. J. (2020). Astrocyte Expression of Synapse Promoting Genes is Developmentally Regulated by Neuronal and Astrocyte Activity. Biophysical Journal. 118(3), 27a-28a.
Farhy-Tselnicker, I., & Allen, N. J. (2018). Astrocytes, neurons, synapses: a tripartite view on cortical circuit development.. Neural Dev. 13(1), 7.
Farhy-Tselnicker, I., van Casteren, A., Lee, A., Chang, V. T., Aricescu, A. R., & Allen, N. J. (2017). Astrocyte-Secreted Glypican 4 Regulates Release of Neuronal Pentraxin 1 from Axons to Induce Functional Synapse Formation.. Neuron. 96(2), 428-445.e13.
Yakubovich, D., Berlin, S., Kahanovitch, U., Rubinstein, M., Farhy-Tselnicker, I., Styr, B., ... Dascal, N. (2015). A Quantitative Model of the GIRK1/2 Channel Reveals That Its Basal and Evoked Activities Are Controlled by Unequal Stoichiometry of G and G.. PLoS Comput Biol. 11(11), e1004598-e1004598.

Repository Documents / Preprints1

Farhy-Tselnicker, I., Boisvert, M. M., Liu, H., Dowling, C., Erikson, G. A., Blanco-Suarez, E., ... Allen, N. J. (2020). Activity-Dependent Modulation of Synapse-Regulating Genes in Astrocytes.