Dr Joseph Valentino Raimondo
Dr Joseph Valentino Raimondo MBChB (Cape Town) MSc (Oxford) DPhil Neuroscience (Oxford)
Senior lecturer, Division of Cell Biology, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town (UCT); Member, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) and the Neuroscience Institute (NI).
Joseph Raimondo is a neuroscientist who investigates brain function and dysfunction using electrophysiological, optical imaging and computational approaches. His career ambition is to produce outstanding research of both local and global relevance, whilst developing African capacity in cellular neurophysiology and computational neuroscience. The primary aim of his research group is to answer the question: ‘Why do brains seize?’
The lab attempts to answer this question by examining the cellular and circuit level interactions between brain cells, which result in the development of epileptic seizures. They have a focus on how changes to inhibitory synaptic transmission and neuroinflammatory responses relate to the emergence and termination of epileptic seizures.
Key areas of expertise: Neurophysiology , epilepsy, synaptic transmission, plasticity, neurocysticercosis, patch-clamp electrophysiology, optical imaging, neuronal biophysics.
Selected publications:
See publications and profile on Research Gate.
Contact details:
Division of Cell Biology
Department of Human Biology
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Observatory 7925
Republic of South Africa
Email: joseph.raimondo@uct.ac.za
Alternate site: http://raimondolab.org
Group members:
| Member | Position |
| Thijs Verhoog | Postdoctoral Fellow |
| Amalia Awala | PhD |
| Josh Selfe | Msc |
| Eran Shorer | Msc |
| Roxanne Hattingh | Msc |
| Teresa Steyn | Msc |
| Ilyaas Amien | Msc |
| Sagel Kundieko | Msc |
| Rachael Dangarembizi | Postdoc (now Lecturer at UCT) |
| Anja de Lange | Postdoc Researcher |
| Hayley Tomes | PhD (now Scientific Communication officer for UCT’s NI) |
| Christopher Currin | PhD (now Postdoc at IST Austria) |
| Tariro Chatiza | MSc (now University of Edinburgh) |
| Sasha Tinelli | MSc (now University of Oxford) |
| Mazyar Nejat | MSc |
| Lamis Shuker | MSc |
| Richard Burman | MSc (now University of Oxford) |
| Kira Dusterwald | MSc |
| Buchule Mbobo | MSc |
| John Lee | Hons |
| Mbalentle Madlala | Hons |
| Maurits Van Den Berg | SSM |
| Sylvia Van Belle | MBChB Proj |
| Samson Salile | Visiting student |
Collaborations:
International:
Christopher Dulla (Tufts University, United States of America)
Colin Akerman (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
Andrew Trevelyan (Newcastle University, UK)
Henry Markram (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)
Alan Kay (University of Iowa, USA)
Robert Wykes (University College London, UK)
National:
Muazzam Jacobs (Division of Immunology, Department of Pathology, UCT)
William Horsnell (Division of Immunology, Department of Pathology, UCT)
Graham Fieggen, (Division of Neurosurgery, UCT)