Dr Daniel de Malmazet

Dr Daniel de Malmazet is an Affiliated Postdoctoral Member at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.

Daniel de Malmazet studied optical engineering in Paris and later obtained a Master’s degree in Cognitive Sciences from Grenoble. Despite having studied mainly mathematics, physics and engineering, Daniel became interested in the innerworkings of the mammalian brain and decided to undertake a PhD in experimental neurosciences in Leuven (Belgium). There, he developed techniques to image the activity of neurons in awake behaving mice and studied how visual information travels from the retina to the brain. In particular, he studied the superior colliculus, a conserved brain area responsible for extracting ethologically relevant sensory information from the surroundings and guide orienting movements (de Malmazet, 2018 and 2023). Daniel also collaborated with other research groups at the VIB and helped discover how neurons in vivo respond to high concentrations of amyloid beta peptide, unravelling the mechanisms of Alzheimer disease (Rice, 2019). Following his PhD, he decided to understand further the motor aspects of the superior colliculus and joined the laboratory of Marco Tripodi in February 2019 at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. He was awarded a Marie Curie fellowship and recently became senior investigator scientist, which role includes also to oversee all experimental setups in the laboratory. Daniel’s current work entails understanding the inhibitory network underlying motor control and dissecting the parallel channels encoding prey capture, sensory and cognitive signals in the superior colliculus.

Daniel is French-Peruvian, born in Indonesia and grew up in Brazil and Italy. He thrives in multicultural environments and speaks several languages. In his free time he enjoys playing piano and football.