The human brain is one of the most complex structures in nature. It contains more than 80 billion neurons and thousands of different cell types that must work together in perfect coordination. For many years, scientists believed that the brain was separated from the immune system. We now know this is not the case: the brain and immune system are in constant communication. Special immune cells in the brain, called microglia, play key roles in brain development and in keeping it healthy. In addition, brain cells themselves can respond to pathogens and use the same chemical signals—called cytokines—that immune cells use to communicate. This communication begins very early in life and continues throughout adulthood and aging. It helps shape how the brain is built and how it functions over time.

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Our laboratory studies how this conversation between the immune system and the developing brain works. We focus on neural stem cells—the cells that build the brain—and how they interact with microglia. We ask simple but important questions:

• How do neural stem cells build the human brain?

• How do neural stem cells communicate with microglia and react to immune signals? 

• What happens if this communication goes wrong?

To answer these questions, we grow human stem cells in the laboratory and use them to create miniature brain-like models. This allows us to study how early immune signals affect brain development.

 

Our goal is to understand how immune signals shape the developing brain—and whether problems in this communication can lead to brain disorders. Ultimately, we hope this knowledge will help guide the development of better treatments.