Luisa Pinto: Rethinking depression through the lens of neuron–glia plasticity

In this Genomic Press Interview, Dr. Luisa Pinto, a tenured Principal Investigator and team leader of the Brain Circuits and Neuron–Glia Adaptations thematic line at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), University of Minho, Portugal, discusses her scientific journey from early stem cell research at the Karolinska Institute and doctoral training in neurogenesis under Magdalena Götz at Helmholtz Zentrum München to establishing an independent research program focused on neuron-glia plasticity in major depressive disorder. Dr. Pinto explains how her work, combining molecular, cellular, circuit-level, and behavioural neuroscience methods, contributed to a paradigm shift by demonstrating that adult hippocampal cytogenesis, involving both neurogenesis and astrogliogenesis, is crucial for long-term remission from depressive-like states. This finding challenged the traditional neuron-focused models of depression and opened new therapeutic possibilities. She reflects on key mentorships, the scientific bravery needed to study lesser-known glial mechanisms, her dedication to translational research including patient-derived systems and cross-species analysis, and her dual roles in academia and biotech entrepreneurship as co-founder of BNML (Behavioural & Molecular Lab). The interview also features selected responses from the Proust Questionnaire, revealing her personal values, literary interests, and family-oriented philosophy that drives her scientific vision.