Research
Dysregulation of neuroimmune interactions is increasingly implicated in brain disorders.
To envision the possibility to effectively target these interactions to cure these diseases, our laboratory strives to understand how neuroimmune interactions emerge in early development and how they become dysregulated in human neurodevelopmental disorders.
Find out more about current research lines below.
How does Type I Interferon signaling activation alter neurodevelopment?
Activation of the Type I Interferon (IFN) signaling pathway (by viral infections or by genetic lesions) can be detrimental for human brain development. We investigate how elevated Type I IFN signaling alters human neurodevelopment by combining human cellular models of brain development such as neural organoids, with fluorescent reporters, viral challenge experiments, genetics and transcriptomic approaches.
How do microglia contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders?
Microglia are the brain’s resident immune cells and play key roles in neuroimmune miscommunication in disease. Given the existence of major human specific features of brain development and disease phenotypes, human microglial models are needed to better understand their precise roles in human neurodevelopmental conditions. We strive to develop human experimental platforms for the study of microglia by combining macrophage differentiations, neural organoid cultures, iPSC disease modelling.
This page is still work in progress: if you want to learn more about our research, please get in touch.