Christian will explore how memories are formed - and forgotten
Christian Boel started his PhD on 1 July. Over the next three years, he will contribute to the broader effort to understand how memories are formed, stored, and ultimately forgotten.
After working as both a Master's student and Research Assistant in the Nykjær Group, Christian Boel is now taking the next step as a PhD student. His previous research focused on protein regulation in Frontotemporal Dementia, particularly the Vps10p-domain receptor sortilin and its role in progranulin trafficking and processing.
His PhD project marks a significant shift in direction. While remaining within the same receptor family, Christian will spend the coming years investigating the mechanisms behind engram formation and the subsequent process of forgetting.
To tackle these questions, he will apply a broad range of experimental approaches, allowing him to study memory from multiple perspectives—synaptically, behaviorally, and molecularly. The goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of how memories are established, maintained, and eventually lost.
What excites Christian most is not only the science itself, but also the challenge of studying something as complex as memory. As he puts it, he is particularly looking forward to "the creative phases of experimental design and data interpretation," where researchers attempt to capture the "complex—and to some extent elusive—concept of memory and forgetting." It is a demanding task, he says, but "the challenge is what sparks my motivation."