Neurobiology meets Organoids
This year, the division, in collaboration with the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), recruited two talented new faculty members:
Jason Tchieu, PhD, (from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center); and Ziyuan Guo, PhD, (from University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine). Their groundbreaking research uses patient-derived pluripotent stem cells and innovative brain organoids to study fetal brain development and the basis of human neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, with the goal of one day discovering new therapeutic approaches to promote brain regeneration and treat pediatric neurological disorders. Drs. Guo and Tchieu will catalyze the growing collaborations between the
Division of Developmental Biology, the new Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative, the
Center for Pediatric Neuroscience, and the clinical neuroscience community here at Cincinnati Children's.
Research Breakthroughs
Investigators in the division continue to make important breakthroughs into the molecular and cellular processes controlling normal fetal development and how discoveries in this process can lead to disease. For example, the
Gebelein and Özbudak labs used the experimental advantages of flies and fish to elucidate key mechanisms that control turning on the right genes at the right time and place in embryonic development. The
Sumanas lab discovered a role for the gene Etv2 in controlling the formation of the lymphatic vasculature, while Hegde’s lab showed how a critical protein EYA3 promotes vasculature angiogenesis in tumors. These factors are promising new therapeutic targets to treat vascular disorders and cancer. Another exciting development is the use of cutting-edge single cell genomics and mouse genetics in the
Jiang lab to uncover the genetic basis of craniofacial birth defects. Finally, using the lessons learnt from studying embryonic development, Division of Developmental Biology investigators in CuSTOM generated human esophageal tissue in the lab, which could one day to treat patients with life threatening esophageal atresia.
