Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Microglia are the immune cells of the brain, and they have a multitude of integral roles throughout our lifespan, but especially in development where they contribute to building and shaping the connections between neurons. Microglia are very active cells that are constantly moving and surveying the brain based on signals received from the environment. The changes in microglial functions in response to external stressors can alter the way the brain develops. One such stressor is maternal immune activation (MIA). MIA occurs when a pregnant person is exposed to a stimulus that induces inflammation in some way (e.g., chronic psychological stress, some unbalanced diets, or viral infection such as COVID-19, etc.) and their body undergoes an immune response. This inflammatory response during pregnancy can affect fetal neurodevelopment and increases the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders in the exposed offspring. Previous research from our lab has discovered a certain subset of microglia, dark microglia, which are overreactive and abundant in offspring exposed to MIA. These dark microglia were suggested to have strong connections to neurodevelopmental disorders, being observed in human brains of individuals with schizophrenia for instance. To study the roles of dark microglia in the mechanisms underlying the outcomes of MIA on the brain and behaviour, this current project will investigate dark microglia across key developmental time points in offspring exposed to MIA. I will conduct this research in translational mouse models of MIA using a series of state-of-the-art imaging techniques available in the Tremblay lab to eventually investigate therapeutic treatments targeting relevant microglial subsets such as dark microglia.