Alexandru Radu Aricescu, known by his middle name, is a Romanian-British molecular

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

based at the

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology The Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is a research institute in Cambridge, England, involved in the revolution in molecular biology which occurred in the 1950–60s. Since then it has remained a major medical r ...

, Cambridge; Prior to 2017, he worked at the

Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics The Centre for Human Genetics (CHG) is a human genetics research centre of the Nuffield Department of Medicine in the Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, funded by the Wellcome Trust among others. Facilities & resources The cent ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

; in 2016 the University awarded him the title of Professor of Molecular Neuroscience.

Career

Aricescu completed his undergraduate and Master of Sciences (MSc) studies in biology and molecular biology at the University of Bucharest. He was subsequently awarded a PhD in Developmental Neurobiology by University College London."LMB welcomes Radu Aricescu at new Group Leader"
''MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology'', 2 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017. In 2002, Aricescu worked at the Neural Development Unit in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

's Institute of Child Health. By 2006, he was part of the Cancer Research UK Receptor Structure Research Group in the Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI) at the

. Already a fellow at the Wellcome Trust Centre, in December 2010 he was appointed Senior Research Lecturer and in 2016 the University awarded him the title of Professor of Molecular Neuroscience. In 2017, Aricescu relocated to the Neurobiology Division of the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, as a group leader.

Research

Aricescu's research focuses on the molecular bases for way the brain acquires and stores information through learning and memory; more specifically, he has studied the "structural and functional characterisation of synaptic receptors". This has applications in understanding ageing, and a wide range of neurological and psychiatric problems. His recent publications include:"Professor A. Radu Aricescu"
''Division of Structural Biology''. Retrieved 22 January 2017. * "Structural basis for integration of GluD receptors within synaptic organizer complexes", ''Science'', vol. 353, issue 6296 (2016). * "Transsynaptic Modulation of Kainate Receptor Functions by C1q-like Proteins", ''Neuron'', vol. 90, issue 4 (2016). * "Crystal structure of a human GABAA receptor", ''Nature'', vol. 512, issue 7514 (2014). * "Structural basis for extracellular cis and trans RPTPσ signal competition in synaptogenesis", ''Nature Communications'', issue 5 (2014). * "Atomic-resolution monitoring of protein maturation in live human cells by NMR", ''Nature Chemical Biology'', vol. 9, issue 5 (2013). * "Proteoglycan-specific molecular switch for RPTPσ clustering and neuronal extension", ''Science'', vol. 332, issue 6028 (2011).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aricescu, Radu Romanian neuroscientists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people