Welcome to the Mayer Lab
Systemic Cellular Neurobiology
The mammalian brain is a highly complex and spatially heterogeneous structure, which has changed significantly during the evolution of modern humans.
Recent progress in stem cell biology has allowed us to model human brain development in a dish using so-called brain organoids, 3-dimensional tissue cultures deriving from stem cells. Organoids provide us with unprecedented access to study human-specific features of brain development, which are normally hidden in utero.
In the research group Neurodevelopment, we use organoid models to understand how brain diseases emerge at the cellular and molecular level. To do so, we either expose organoids to adverse environmental factors or genetically modify them so they represent genetically caused neurodevelopmental disorders. Our goal is to develop prevention and treatment strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders.
In addition to Zoology, we are affiliated with the Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems – Functional Molecular Systems (IBCS-FMS).
We wish a warm welcome to Isabel Potthof, who is joining our team as a PhD student
Don't forget to have a look at the new preprint from our PCH2cure research team showing that both the cerebellum and supratentorial structures are diminished in size at birth in pontocerebellar hypoplasia.
See moreSarieva, K. et al. Comparing the impact of sample multiplexing approaches for single-cell RNA-sequencing on downstream analysis using cerebellar organoids. BioXriv, 2024
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