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SUMMARY:Modelling Autistic Neurons by Cellular Reprogramming. “A Dishful
  of an Autistic Brain”  - Aicha Massrali – PhD Candidate\, Psychiatry\
 , Wolfson College\, University of Cambridge
DTSTART:20170224T164000Z
DTEND:20170224T165000Z
UID:TALK71147@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Wolfson College Cambridge
DESCRIPTION:Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are neurodevelopmental and en
 tail social-communication disability alongside unusually narrow interests 
 and difficulties adjusting to unexpected change. The causes associated wit
 h the conditions are still being investigated. Although ASC is known to be
  highly heritable\, genome wide association studies have not been successf
 ul in identifying ASC-specific candidate genes. The complex and multifacto
 rial nature of ASC and the inaccessibility of post-mortem tissues have hin
 dered progress in research. Recently\, a paradigm-shift in psychiatric dis
 orders (including ASC) has emerged\, the ground-breaking technology of ind
 uced pluripotency awarded Yamanaka and Gurdon the Nobel Prize in Physiolog
 y and Medicine in 2012. Yamanka developed a method to reprogram adult fibr
 oblast cells to a state of pluripotency like that of embryonic stem cells 
 using four transcription factors. The derived induced pluripotent stem cel
 ls (iPSCs) can then be differentiated into any cell type\, giving scientis
 ts the opportunity to model neurological conditions by using cells derived
  from the patient. In my project\, autism-derived iPSCs are differentiated
  into cortical neurons to mimic the cellular and functional circuitry exhi
 bited in ASC pathophysiology during fetal brain development. This allows t
 o deepen our understanding of autism etiology\, provide biomarkers for ear
 ly detection and identify potential drug targets.\n
LOCATION:Lee Hall\, Wolfson College Cambridge
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