Professor Olfa Masmoudi-Kouki, PhD
Full Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neurosciences
Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar
Head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Cellular Pathophysiology, and Biomolecules Valorization (LR18ES03)
A graduate of the Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, she earned her Maîtrise in Natural Sciences in 1998 before joining the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Neuroendocrinology, INSERM U413 at the University of Rouen, France. There, she completed her PhD in Neuroscience in 2005. In 2002, she was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Tunis El Manar, and she was promoted to Full Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience in 2016.
Her research explores the roles of neuropeptides in neuronal plasticity, neuroprotection, and cell death, particularly within neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders and environmental toxicology. Her work aims to uncover novel therapeutic strategies for complex brain disorders. Her laboratory is one of the few in the region with expertise in primary neural cell cultures, experimental models of neurodegeneration, and cellular and molecular neurotoxicology.
Professor Masmoudi-Kouki has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and has led numerous national and international collaborative research projects, including PHC-Utique, Erasmus+, IBRO, Marie Skłodowska-Curie HORIZON H2020-MSCA, and Neurobridge programs.
Deeply committed to neuroscience education, she serves as the local coordinator of the Euro-Mediterranean Master in Neurosciences (EMN), fostering interdisciplinary training and student mobility across the Mediterranean region. She is an active member of several scientific societies, including the Mediterranean Neuroscience Society (MNS), the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), the Tunisian Association of Laboratory Animal Sciences (ATSAL), and the Euro-African Association of Environment (AEAE).
