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SUMMARY:&quot\;In Vivo Glia-to-Neuron Conversion For Brain Repair&quot\; -
  Gong Chen\,Professor and Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences\, Penns
 ylvania State University
DTSTART:20170620T110000Z
DTEND:20170620T120000Z
UID:TALK72675@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Shannon Tinley-Browne
DESCRIPTION:Gong Chen\nWillaman Professor\nThe Pennsylvania State Universi
 ty\n\nGlial scar is widely associated with brain and spinal cord injury\, 
 stroke\, glioma\, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s di
 sease. Reactive glia initially exert neuroprotective role but later form g
 lial scar to inhibit neuroregeneration. Currently\, there is no effective 
 way to reverse glial scar back to neural tissue. We have recently develope
 d an innovative in vivo cell conversion technology to directly convert rea
 ctive glial cells into functional neurons inside the mouse brain (Guo et a
 l.\, Cell Stem Cell\, 2014\, selected as BEST of 2014 article). This is ac
 hieved through in vivo expression of a single neural transcription factor 
 NeuroD1 in the reactive astrocytes in injured mouse brain or Alzheimer’s
  disease mouse model. Our in vivo cell conversion technology makes use of 
 internal glial cells to regenerate new neurons\, making it possible for th
 e first time in history to reverse glial scar back to neural tissue. Such 
 internal cell conversion method will avoid cell transplantation and immune
  rejection. We have further discovered a cocktail of small molecules that 
 can directly convert cultured human astrocytes into functional neurons (Zh
 ang et al.\, Cell Stem Cell\, 2015)\, paving the way for a potential drug 
 therapy for human brain repair. We have also successfully converted reacti
 ve glial cells into neurons using NeuroD1 in non-human primate brains\, ma
 king an important step toward future clinical trials. \n\nThis project was
  supported by grants from NIH\, Alzheimer’s Association\, and Charles H.
  Skip Smith Endowment Fund. G.C. is Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Scienc
 es at Penn State University.  \n
LOCATION:Brain Repair Centre\, Forvie Site\, Robinson Way
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