Asymmetric brain patterning and neural stem cell development
The human cortex, formed largely during embryonic development, is organized into distinct functional regions controlling complex behaviors. Accurate structure and precise function of the cortex depends on the production of multipotent and self-renewing neural stem cells (or progenitors) and the interconnection of specific cell types derived from them during development.
The research in my lab will address three broad and essential questions:
1. How is distinct function consistently and asymmetrically localized in one hemisphere of the human cortex?
2. How do neural stem cells self-maintain and then differentiate into distinct cell fates at the right time and the right location in order to establish complex brain anatomy and function?
3. What are the molecular mechanisms that regulate the formation of neural circuits in the somatosensory detection?
We are investigating how gene alterations in embryonic cortices can affect behaviors in the adult using mouse genetic approaches. We are studying how non-coding microRNAs control cortical patterning and neuronal production. We also apply cDNA microarrays and proteomic approaches to identify new candidate genes and microRNAs that are essential for human and mouse cortical development.