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Information  

Our laboratory studies how primary nerve cells and stem cell-derived neuronal cells can be programmed and re-programmed dependent on neural activity, neurotrophic growth factors and cell intrinsic cues. In transgenic mouse models we investigate mechanisms of learning and memory that depend on interaction of chromatin with the nuclear matrix protein Satb2.

We are also developing protocols to differentiate pluripotent stem cells of mouse and human origin into specific neuronal populations. These protocols are useful for establishing models of human neurological and psychiatric diseases based on the "induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology.

Key Techniques and Methods

• Generation of human iPSC lines
• Neuronal stem cell differentiation
• Molecular biology
• Neuronal cell culture
• Transgenic animal models
• Confocal microscopy
• Epitranscriptomics
• Proteomics

Collaboration

1. Derek Morris, PhD - Assistant Professor in Molecular Psychiatry, Dept. of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin
2. Schahram Akbarian, MD, PhD - Professor, Psychiatry & Neuroscience, Mount Sinai, New York