Neuroscience
Area
Cerebral Cortex
Development Lab
We are interested in molecular mechanisms specifying embryonic
cortico-cerebral precursors and regulating their
proliferation/differentiation profile.
Our work is
mainly focussed on a small set of evolutionarily conserved
transcription factor genes involved in these processes. We are working
at decoding ncRNA-mediated regulation of their expression. We are
dissecting their impact on the kinetic behaviour of cortico-cerebral
neural stem cells and neuronally committed progenitors.
Moreover, we
are assaying if and how controlled overexpression of these genes may be
exploited for purposes of brain repair. This includes: reprogramming
somatic non-neural cells to cortico-cerebral fates, enhancing the
intrinsic neuronogenic potential of natural cortico-cerebral
precursors, developing innovative, ncRNA-based methodologies for
eliciting stimulation of endogenous genes.
The achievement
of these goals relies on the integrated employment of a large body of
classical and state-of-art technologies. Strong emphasis is placed on
creative and critical contibution by young, intellectually independent
PhD students, in charge of these projects.
Dobbiamo inventare il mondo per inquadrarvi le nostre sensazioni,
ma non dovremo mai considerarlo come uno schema rigido e fisso, come
una costruzione definititiva: esso non e' che il risultato
provvisorio di uno sforzo di sintesi.
Bruno de Finetti
We have to invent the world and frame our sensations within it, but
we must not consider it as a rigid and fixed scheme, as an ultimate
building: it is not but the provisional result of our
synthesis efforts.
Bruno de Finetti
Neuroscience
Area