Abstract

Astrocytes perform critical homeostatic support functions in the central nervous system. It is now clear that astrocytes, similar to neurons, can molecularly, morphologically and functionally specialize to brain areas, circuits and other anatomical domains. We have recently discovered that astrocytes forming brain barriers in the brain and spinal cord, called glia limitans astrocytes, are highly specialized. These astrocytes have a highly unusual morphology, a unique gene expression profile and are conserved from fish to mouse to human. Our lab now studies the development, function and dysfunction of these cells using -omics, imaging and transgenic approaches to discovery their role in protecting the brain from peripheral insults, injury and neuroinflammation.

—- Philip completed his PhD at Edinburgh University before joining Shane Liddelow’s lab at NYU as a postdoc. There, he applied -omics approaches to describe new subtypes of astrocytes in the brain and spinal cord. He recently joined the UK Dementia Research Institute in Edinburgh as a Group Leader on a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award to study the role of specialized astrocytes in brain function and dysfunction. —- A Department of Clinical Neurosciences Seminar