How do genes contribute to development and disease?
Gene expression networks provide the underlying template for nervous system development. These fine-tuned, evolutionarily conserved networks have remarkable cell-type and developmental stage-specificity. For the first time, investigators in our department have the tools to blueprint gene expression networks on a genome-wide scale with single cell resolution.
Powered by such technological advancement, we seek to answer the following questions in our work to better understand the template for nervous system development.
How is this remarkable specificity achieved?
How do gene expression networks contribute to evolutionary adaptation?
Are gene networks disrupted in predictable ways during disease progression?
Can we exploit these networks to develop novel therapies for cancer, degeneration and other neurologic diseases?
Together, experimentalists work with data scientists to provide unprecedented new insights into genome function and structure to serve our mission.
