Research Labs

The Harkany Lab at the Medical University of Vienna pursues experimental research on fundamental mechanisms that drive the molecular design of the mammalian brain during fetal and postnatal development, including studies on cellular diversity and intercellular signaling systems. We strive to understand how maternal life-choices during pregnancy -- including drug seeking, diet, and stress -- modify fetal development, potentially impacting the offspring for their life-time. We address these key questions by intersecting molecular, cellular, and circuit neuroscience in invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, and human subjects. The breadth of our methodological repertoire has helped us to resolve some of the most challenging and exciting questions of modern Neuroscience.

Our research examines the molecular mechanisms underlying endocannabinoid and neuropeptide signaling systems in hypothalamic and cortical brain circuit formation in health and disease.

Our main research interest is the unprecedented cellular heterogeneity of the brain, its achievement during development and its conversion into functional circuitry, with a particular focus on how environmental and metabolic factors can influence brain cell composition, identities, and functions.

For patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, there is a gap between biomedical research and the application of its discoveries. Together with the GSRD consortium, we explore the genetic foundations of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) using whole-genome sequencing to develop precise treatment approaches.