Research subject Neurodevelopment

Development of the nervous system is a highly regulated process where billions of neurons are generated and integrated into functional circuits.

This requires massive integration of short- and long-range signaling between cells, proliferation and cell type specification, migration as well as axon outgrowth and targeting. The underlying gene expression programs require precise spatiotemporal gene activation and repression. 

In the department we use cutting edge techniques to study at the molecular level the processes of cell type specification and differentiation with particular focus on epigenetic and transcriptional regulation as well as cell to cell signaling during development. 

We build mini tissues, so called organoids, from stem cells and use these to study normal human development and to model diseases that affect the nervous system and connected tissues such as ALS, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder or brain cancer.