Dr. David Ramos Vicente has been awarded the Extraordinary Doctorate Prize granted by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), based on the proposal of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program in Neuroscience, for his thesis entitled “Glutamate as a neurotransmitter: revealing the complexity of its evolution and diversity in the nervous system.”
This research, supervised by Dr. Àlex Bayés, head of the Molecular Physiology of Synapses group at the Sant Pau Research Institute, focuses on glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system of living beings, and its crucial role in the functioning of the nervous system and cognitive function. The research, conducted during his work at Sant Pau, explores in detail the proteins involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission, especially glutamate receptors and their auxiliary subunits, which play an essential role in regulating brain function.
One of the most noteworthy findings of Dr. Ramos’s thesis is the redefinition of the classification of glutamate receptors, currently divided into six classes. The work proposes a more precise classification into 4 subfamilies encompassing 10 classes, providing a new perspective on the complexity of these receptors in the evolution of metazoans. This redefinition has significant implications for understanding how the nervous system has evolved and shaped cognitive function.
