Detail

The goal of our research is to create human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) neural (glial and neuronal) differentiation models for studying the cellular and molecular basis of human brain development and pathogenesis of neurological disease, and to develop stem cell regenerative medicine for neural repair. We have been developing hiPSC-based 2-dimensional (2D) neural differentiation models, 3D brain organoid models, and in vivo human-mouse chimeric brain models to investigate how altered gene expression in neurological disorders, such as Down syndrome, causes abnormal brain development, changes synaptic plasticity, leads to cognitive deficits, and results in early ageing and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, hiPSCs hold great promise for developing cell therapies to replace damaged brain cells and restore brain functions after brain injury or under neurodegenerative conditions. We also study how to derive functionally competent neural cells from hiPSCs for neural repair. The basic and translational stem cell research we are pursuing critically bridges between the understanding of human neural development in heath and disease, and the development of stem cell medicine to treat neurological disorders.