Synapses are the connections between neurons that allow them to communicate. As people grow older, the synapses are "pruned" by microglia. But in neurodevelopment disorders microglia struggle to find the right synapses to prune. Olivia Teter has used gene-editing tools to measure the pruning and found that some neurodevelopment disorders can hijack the process of proper pruning.

Teter won third prize at UCSF Grad Slam 2023, a competition that challenges PhD students to present a compelling talk on their research in three minutes or less using compelling language that non-specialists can understand.

For students, the contest is an incentive to clarify their ideas and to help others understand and appreciate the significance of their work. For the audience, it's an entertaining glimpse into research graduate students are engaged in. graduate.ucsf.edu/grad-slam

View all 10 Grad Slam competition talks:    • Student research  

Olivia Teter is part of the UCSF Bioengineering Program
Martin Kampmann, PhD, faculty mentor
graduate.ucsf.edu/uc-san-francisco-graduate-divisi…