Probing at Maternal Behaviour and Finding Purpose in Science

In the ninth episode of Tools for Looking into the Brain, created in collaboration with Scientifica, Clara and Carolina are joined by Dr. Silvana Valtcheva—a brilliant researcher, Scientifica customer, and group leader at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne—who investigates the neural basis of maternal behaviour.

We talk about Silvana's scientific journey from studying synaptic plasticity to exploring the complexities of postpartum behaviour in living animals. The conversation also touches on navigating the stages of academia and where meaning and motivation fit into science.

Dr Silvana Valtcheva

Dr Silvana Valtcheva is a principal investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, Germany. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in neuroscience, and completed her PhD with Prof. Laurent Venance in Paris, where she investigated activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, the role of astrocytes, and the developmental regulation of plasticity. Subsequently, she joined the lab of Prof. Robert Froemke in New York City as a postdoctoral fellow, where she investigated the neural pathways and synaptic mechanisms involved in maternal detection of offspring vocalisations.

Since establishing her own lab in 2022, Dr Valtcheva has been leading research on the neural circuits and plasticity mechanisms that shape sensory perception and hormonal release in the postpartum brain- processes which ultimately drive maternal behaviour.

Listen to the episode here

In collaboration with Scientifica, this podcast series- Tools for Looking into the Brain- is dedicated to creating engaging and informative content exploring various techniques used by researchers in neuroscience. With a focus on electrophysiology, multiphoton imaging, and optogenetics. Throughout this series, we'll have special guest appearances, offering valuable insights and perspectives from experts in the field.