Anne-Sophie Hafner

Team: Molecular Dynamics of the Synapse (DynamicSyn)
Team leader  |  Researcher - PhD (DR)  |  UB

My lab studies the dynamic composition of synapses, the molecular basis of memory encoding in the brain. We use omics-approaches combined with FACs-based synapse purification, metabolic labelling, super-resolution, and live-imaging as well as computational modelling to elucidate changes in synapse composition associated with learning, aging and diseases. We aim for a better understanding of synaptic to help the development of innovative preventive and therapeutic approaches to brain dysfunction.  In 2022, I received an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council for my project MemCode, to investigate the mechanisms of long-term memory storage in the brain; and in 2026 an ERC Proof of Concept to test a gene therapy to stop Alzheimer’s disease progression at early stages.

Publications

Synaptic logistics: competing over shared resources
Anne-Sophie Hafner & Jochen Triesch
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 2023-05-10
10.1016/j.mcn.2023.103858

Statistical laws of protein motion in neuronal dendritic trees
Fabio Sartori, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Ali Karimi, Andreas Nold, Yombe Fonkeu, Erin M. Schuman, Tatjana Tchumatchenko
Cell Reports. 2020-11-17
10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108391

How mRNA localization and protein synthesis sites influence dendritic protein distribution and dynamics
Yombe Fonkeu, Nataliya Kraynyukova, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Lisa Kochen, Fabio Sartori, Erin M. Schuman, Tatjana Tchumatchenko
Neuron. 2019-07-23
10.1016/j.neuron.2019.06.022

Local protein synthesis is a ubiquitous feature of neuronal pre- and postsynaptic compartments
Anne-Sophie Hafner, Paul G. Donlin-Asp, Beulah Leitch, Etienne Herzog and Erin M. Schuman
Science. 2019-05-17
10.1126/science.aau3644

Protocol for single-molecule analysis of synaptic protein complexes mediated vesicle recruitment
Akshay Kapadia, Anne-Sophie Hafner
STAR Protocols. 2025-12-05
10.1016/j.xpro.2025.104249

Local protein synthesis at synapses: a driver for synapse diversification
Ezgi Daskin, Stanley Van, Anne-Sophie Hafner
Journal of Neurochemistry. 2025-11-26
10.1111/jnc.70308

An integrative model of AMPA Receptor Trafficking reveals the central contribution of local translation in Subtype-Specific kinetics
Surbhit Wagle, Maximilian K. Kracht, Anne Bührke, Amparo Acker-Palmer, Nataliya Kraynyukova, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Erin M. Schuman, Tatjana Tchumatchenko
BioRxiv. 2025-02-08
10.1101/2025.02.08.637220

Alzheimer's related accumulation of APP-CTFβ drives presynaptic dysfunction
Akshay Kapadia, Fabian Schuhmann, Ezgi Daskin, Jochen Walter, Isabell Lindahl, Neda Rahmani, Weria Pezeshkian, Anne-Sophie Hafner
BioRxiv. 2025-08-01
10.1101/2025.08.01.667924

Computational insights into mRNA and protein dynamics underlying synaptic plasticity rules
Surbhit Wagle, Nataliya Kraynyukova, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Tatjana Tchumatchenko
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 2023-06-01
10.1016/j.mcn.2023.103846

Super-resolution imaging and estimation of protein copy numbers at single synapses with DNA-point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography
Carolin Böger, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Thomas Schlichthärle, Maximilian T. Strauss, Sebastian Malkusch, Ulrike Endesfelder, Ralf Jungmann, Erin M. Schuman, Mike Heilemann
Neurophotonics. 2019-08-21
10.1117/1.nph.6.3.035008

Local protein synthesis is a ubiquitous feature of neuronal pre- and postsynaptic compartments
Anne-Sophie Hafner, Paul G. Donlin-Asp, Beulah Leitch, Etienne Herzog, Erin M. Schuman
Science. 2019-05-16
10.1126/science.aau3644

Competition for synaptic building blocks shapes synaptic plasticity
Jochen Triesch, Anh Duong Vo, Anne-Sophie Hafner
eLife. 2018-09-17
10.7554/elife.37836

Unconventional secretory processing diversifies neuronal ion channel properties
Cyril Hanus, Helene Geptin, Georgi Tushev, Sakshi Garg, Beatriz Alvarez-Castelao, Sivakumar Sambandan, Lisa Kochen, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Julian D Langer, Erin M Schuman
eLife. 2016-09-28
10.7554/elife.20609

Shisa6 traps AMPA receptors at postsynaptic sites and prevents their desensitization during synaptic activity.
Remco V. Klaassen, Jasper Stroeder, Françoise Coussen, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Jennifer D. Petersen, Cedric Renancio, Leanne J. M. Schmitz, Elisabeth Normand, Johannes C. Lodder, Diana C. Rotaru, Priyanka Rao-Ruiz, Sabine Spijker, Huibert D. Mansvelder, Daniel Choquet, August B. Smit
Nat Comms. 2016-03-02
10.1038/ncomms10682

Lengthening of the Stargazin Cytoplasmic Tail Increases Synaptic Transmission by Promoting Interaction to Deeper Domains of PSD-95.
Anne-Sophie Hafner, Andrew C. Penn, Dolors Grillo-Bosch, Natacha Retailleau, Christel Poujol, Amandine Philippat, Françoise Coussen, Matthieu Sainlos, Patricio Opazo, Daniel Choquet
Neuron. 2015-04-01
10.1016/j.neuron.2015.03.013

Glutamate-induced AMPA receptor desensitization increases their mobility and modulates short-term plasticity through unbinding from Stargazin.
Audrey Constals, Andrew C. Penn, Benjamin Compans, Estelle Toulmé, Amandine Phillipat, Sébastien Marais, Natacha Retailleau, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Françoise Coussen, Eric Hosy, Daniel Choquet
Neuron. 2015-02-01
10.1016/j.neuron.2015.01.012

Neddylation inhibition impairs spine development, destabilizes synapses and deteriorates cognition.
Annette M Vogl, Marisa M Brockmann, Sebastian A Giusti, Giuseppina Maccarrone, Claudia A Vercelli, Corinna A Bauder, Julia S Richter, Francesco Roselli, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Nina Dedic, Carsten T Wotjak, Daniela M Vogt-Weisenhorn, Daniel Choquet, Christoph W Turck, Valentin Stein, Jan M Deussing, Damian Refojo
Nat Neurosci. 2015-01-12
10.1038/nn.3912

Regulation of AMPA receptor surface trafficking and synaptic plasticity by a cognitive enhancer and antidepressant molecule
H Zhang, L-A Etherington, A-S Hafner, D Belelli, F Coussen, P Delagrange, F Chaouloff, M Spedding, J J Lambert, D Choquet, L Groc
Mol Psychiatry. 2012-06-26
10.1038/mp.2012.80

  • Anne-Sophie Hafner