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Abdel El Manira

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Abdel El Manira (born 28 January 1965) is a Moroccan-Swedish neuroscientist and distinguished professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.[1][2] He is widely recognized for his research on the neural circuits that control movement, focusing on how motor circuits in the spinal cord contribute to locomotion and motor behavior. El Manira currently leads the Neurobiology of Motor Actions Laboratory at the Karolinska Institute, where he investigates the fundamental principles of motor circuit organization and function.[3][4]

Early life and education

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El Manira was born in Rabat, Morocco, and holds both Moroccan and Swedish citizenship. He obtained a bachelor's degree in biology from Mohammed V University in Rabat in 1988 and a PhD in neuroscience from Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France, in 1992.[1] His doctoral work focused on the neural mechanisms underlying movement, laying the foundation for his subsequent research. Following his PhD, he joined the Department of Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden as a postdoctoral researcher.[1]

Career

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In 1994, El Manira began his independent research career as an assistant professor at the Karolinska Institute, supported by funding from the Swedish Research Council. In 2003, he received the Elite Research Award and in 2005, he was promoted to full professor of neuroscience.[1] In 2017, he was awarded the Distinguished Professor Grant by the Swedish Research Council.[1] El Manira is a member of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute and has been serving as a member of the Nobel Committee for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine since 2020.[5][6] Additionally, he has chaired the Scientific Council for Medicine at the Swedish Research Council.[7]

Research

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El Manira's research focuses on understanding how neural circuits in the brain and spinal cord coordinate complex motor functions. His team studies the interplay between these circuits to produce precise and adaptable movements.[3][4] A key contribution of his work is the discovery of modular circuit organization within the spinal cord, which functions as an intrinsic "gear shift" for controlling movement speed.[8][9] His lab identified a three-part circuit module that enables animals to transition smoothly between different speeds through the activation of specific neuronal pathways.[10]

El Manira's research has also demonstrated that motor neurons play active roles within central pattern generators (CPGs)—the neural networks responsible for rhythmic movements.[11] His findings highlight the dual role of motor neurons as both initiators and participants in motor control, offering a revised understanding of CPG function in motor behavior.[11] Additionally, his lab discovered the first known intraspinal proprioceptive organ composed of Piezo2+ neurons, identifying a new class of proprioceptors within the central nervous system.[12] Most recently, his team has identified transcriptomic signatures that organize neuronal subtypes into functional circuit modules controlling locomotor speed, providing new insights into the genetic and molecular profiles underlying motor circuit diversity.[13]

Awards and honours

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El Manira is a Commander of the National Order of Merit and a Knight of the Order of the Throne from Morocco. He was elected to the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technologies in Morocco in 2013, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2015, and the Academia Europaea in 2017.[14][15][16] Additionally, he has received the Distinguished Professor Award from the Karolinska Institute and the European Research Council Advanced Grant.[2][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Academy of Europe: CV". www.ae-info.org.
  2. ^ a b "Distinguished Professor Grants to five KI researchers | Karolinska Institutet". news.ki.se. 14 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b "El Manira Lab | Department of Neuroscience Karolinska Institute | Sweden". elmaniralab.
  4. ^ a b "Neurobiology of Motor Actions – Abdel El Manira group | Karolinska Institutet". ki.se.
  5. ^ "The Nobel Assembly".
  6. ^ "The Nobel Committee".
  7. ^ "The Scientific Council for Medicine and Health". www.vr.se. 25 May 2018.
  8. ^ Ampatzis, Konstantinos; Song, Jianren; Ausborn, Jessica; El Manira, Abdeljabbar (20 August 2014). "Separate microcircuit modules of distinct v2a interneurons and motoneurons control the speed of locomotion". Neuron. 83 (4): 934–943. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.07.018. PMID 25123308 – via PubMed.
  9. ^ Song, Jianren; Pallucchi, Irene; Ausborn, Jessica; Ampatzis, Konstantinos; Bertuzzi, Maria; Fontanel, Pierre; Picton, Laurence D.; El Manira, Abdeljabbar (18 March 2020). "Multiple Rhythm-Generating Circuits Act in Tandem with Pacemaker Properties to Control the Start and Speed of Locomotion". Neuron. 105 (6): 1048–1061.e4. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2019.12.030. PMID 31982322 – via PubMed.
  10. ^ El Manira, Abdeljabbar (15 October 2023). "Modular circuit organization for speed control of locomotor movements". Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 82: 102760. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2023.102760. PMID 37597455 – via PubMed.
  11. ^ a b Song, Jianren; Ampatzis, Konstantinos; Björnfors, E. Rebecka; El Manira, Abdeljabbar (21 January 2016). "Motor neurons control locomotor circuit function retrogradely via gap junctions". Nature. 529 (7586): 399–402. doi:10.1038/nature16497. PMID 26760208 – via PubMed.
  12. ^ Picton, Laurence D.; Bertuzzi, Maria; Pallucchi, Irene; Fontanel, Pierre; Dahlberg, Elin; Björnfors, E. Rebecka; Iacoviello, Francesco; Shearing, Paul R.; El Manira, Abdeljabbar (7 April 2021). "A spinal organ of proprioception for integrated motor action feedback". Neuron. 109 (7): 1188–1201.e7. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2021.01.018. PMID 33577748 – via PubMed.
  13. ^ Pallucchi, Irene; Bertuzzi, Maria; Madrid, David; Fontanel, Pierre; Higashijima, Shin-Ichi; El Manira, Abdeljabbar (15 January 2024). "Molecular blueprints for spinal circuit modules controlling locomotor speed in zebrafish". Nature Neuroscience. 27 (1): 78–89. doi:10.1038/s41593-023-01479-1. PMC 10774144. PMID 37919423 – via PubMed.
  14. ^ "Document sans titre". www.academie.hassan2.sciences.ma.
  15. ^ "Abdel El Manira". Kungl. Vetenskapsakademien.
  16. ^ "Academy of Europe: El Manira Abdeljabbar". www.ae-info.org.
  17. ^ "Three KI researchers awarded prestigious ERC grant | Karolinska Institutet". news.ki.se. 14 November 2024.
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