Research activities

The goal of my research is to understand what drives brain cell diversity during development. Characterizing the diversity and function of brain cell types is essential to our understanding of complex brain functions. What remains poorly understood is what establishes the gene expression networks that determine a brain cell’s identity and how misregulation of this epigenetic process causes neurodevelopmental disorders. In particular, my lab focuses on the role of chromatin regulators that control the compaction and accessibility of DNA to regulate gene expression. We use epigenome editing tools, human brain organoids, mouse models and state-of-the-art genomic technologies, to study epigenetic regulation in the brain. With these novel approaches, we seek to unravel the molecular mechanisms that allow cell type-specific chromatin remodelers to regulate DNA accessibility at genes that promote distinct brain cell fates. Our aim is to restore chromatin remodeling activity in neurodevelopmental disorders, which are frequently associated with mutations in these epigenetic regulators.