About us - Developmental and Translational Neurobiology

Our research

Mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression, represent a major burden on both individuals and public health systems. This prevalence has been increasing disproportionately in women of reproductive age given increasing stressorsfrom our modern society. Exposure to stress during early life, including the prenatal period via the mother’s mental state, is among the most common risk predictors of child mental illness later in life. Many behavioral dysfunctions and long-term vulnerabilities in children are associated with maternal prenatal exposures like stress hormones or pharmacologicaltreatment for associated mental illnesses. Unfortunately, we have very little knowledge of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate the transmission of these environmental agents from mother to baby and how these lead to negative mental health outcomes in the next generation.

Our research program seeks to characterize how the prenatal environment impacts human brain development, ultimatelyshaping mental health outcomes. We study human-specific exposures in complex model systems of the developing human brain (cerebral organoids), and investigate mechanisms of cell- and tissue-specific responses using state-of-art molecular and cellular biology technologies.  With this work we hope to improve understanding of prenatal exposures and inform treatment decisions for stress-related disorders among pregnant women with evidence about the likely outcomes in their developing children. This is especially important during the unique prenatal period when vulnerability is high and the impact deals with two lives.