The general goal of our research is to understand genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying neurogenesis and devise cellular reprogramming approaches to generate human neurons and model late-onset neurodegenerative disorders. Our work centers around two brain-enriched microRNAs, miR-9/9* and miR-124 (miR-9/9*-124) which we identified as potent neurogenic molecules that evoke direct conversion (reprogramming) of human adult fibroblasts into neurons when ectopically expressed. These directly reprogrammed neurons retain the age of fibroblasts donors, thereby allowing us to assess neuronal properties inherent in adult neurons.
We currently aim to: