As part of our Meet the Team series, we introduce you to one of our UCSF Broad Stem Cell community members. Meet Arantxa Cebrian Silla, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow working with Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, to study the mechanisms of adult neurogenesis and neuronal replacement, with the specific goals of understanding 1) How young neurons are generated, 2) How do they migrate long distances, 3) How do they differentiate and contribute to brain function and possibly brain tumors, and 4) Whether similar processes can be used for brain repair. Arantxa’s project focuses on the identification of B2 cells as a population of secondary (relay) neural stem cells in the postnatal mouse brain.
Q. Tell us about yourself.
A. My name is Dr. Arantxa Cebrian Silla — a postdoctoral researcher in the Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, lab in the stem cell building. I study adult neural stem cells in the brain. When I was an undergrad, I started to volunteer in the lab and was captivated by biology. I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Valencia. In Spain, I studied with Dr. Jose Manuel García Verdugo. He was studying adult stem cells, and the main technique that he was using was electron microscopy. At that time, Dr. Garcia-Verdugo was identifying the ultra-structural characteristics of stem cells, and the very nice thing was that the lab was doing that in an evolutionary way. They would analyze these aspects in lizards, mice, monkeys, and humans. This afforded me the opportunity to analyze brain samples from very different species, and it was super interesting because I was able to compare the stem cell populations between them. It was fascinating to see how they are similar but also very different.
Particularly enticing was the variation of regenerative capacity related to stem cells location, morphology and gene expression patterns. My PI in Spain is an expert in electron microscopy analysis. As this is a complex technique that requires a lot of training, we had a lot of partnerships with other labs around the world.
In 2014, these collaborations offered me a chance to come to the United States, where I spent a short stay in Dr. Daniel Lim’s lab at UCSF. My experience here was incredible and propelled me to eventually return. In the interim, I also was able to be a visiting PhD student in Japan at the Nagoya City University in Dr. Kazunobu Sawamoto’s lab. Here, we were studying the stem cells in zebrafish and monkey brains, and the experience allowed me to learn new techniques, which was inspiring. I then finished my PhD in Spain and chose to do my postdoc in the stem cell building with our incredible IRM Stem Cell Center community because I loved it so much. I was particularly attracted to the workspace because it fosters collaboration and interaction among scientists.
The Alvarez-Buylla lab has different lines of research, but we are focused on the study of neural stem cells in the adult brain. Specifically, my project focuses on the identification of a novel sub-population of stem cells with the nomination of B2 cells. Interestingly, these cells act as a relay to maintain adult neurogenesis over the life of the animal. This project is very exciting because this population hasn't been explored before, so we are identifying these stem cells and trying to see their function and how they behave. I focus most of my research on basic research and mice, but we are currently pursuing a parallel project with a collaborator from the laboratory, Marcos Nascimento, PhD, where we are working in humans trying to understand this exact same stem cell population in the brain of early postnatal humans — between the ages of newborn and 3 years old. These cells are there, and the understanding of these cells in mice can be very relevant to understanding how the stem cells of children behave during these early stages. Finally, these cells have a possible connection with glioblastomas. If we can better understand this, it may also be very interesting for the origin of glioblastomas.
Q. Describe the motivation for your work.
A. I have always loved biology. In my second year of undergrad, I went to a T-cell biology class, and my PI started to talk about stem cells. It was very interesting because I felt this passion right away when I heard about stem cells. He was explaining how these stem cells can generate super complex organs, including the brain. It was instantaneous. I knew this was what I was going to do for a living. I was driven to understand how this works. So, for me, it was falling in love with stem cells.
This was very intuitive for me. Stem cells are fascinating. It’s a very beautiful process that is rewarding to understand how the brain works in a basic way but also how this knowledge will help to understand and better treat devastating diseases or brain problems.
Q. Share a fun/interesting fact about yourself.
A. I really like traveling, knowing other cultures, and learning a lot. My other personal interest is music. I'm always open to any live music, and if there is music playing, I immediately start to move. My colleagues will catch me dancing in between experiments.
Photos courtesy of Dr. Cebrian Silla and feature travels from her time in Japan.