Claudia Bagni joined the University of Lausanne in 2016 as director of the Department of Fundamental Neurosciences. In 2021, she became vice-dean for research and innovation. Bagni’s research aims at understanding how the interplay between RNA metabolism and actin remodeling regulates synapse physiology pathology, brain activity and behaviors as sociability, cognitive flexibility and sleep. She has a profound interest in two specific synaptopathies, fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in which the recurring aspect is the dysregulation of the synaptic proteome. Her research group uses fruit flies, mice, human stem cells and organoids for an in-depth understanding of these complex pathologies. She has long lasting collaborations with clinicians.