Merut Shankar L&S Biological Sciences
Developing an organoid model to study neuronal circuitry in Autism
1 in 36 children are born with autism (ASD), characterized by challenges in social communication, mental cognition, and behavioral aspects. ASD is recognized to have a neurodevelopmental cause, making it crucial to study during early fetal brain development. Early ASD development remains misunderstood due to lack of a standard model. A critical transient region of early brain development is the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE), which produces most cortical interneurons (INs) that refine circuitry. My research aims to develop MGE organoids modeling in-vivo IN development of ASD, with the goal of obtaining a pure population of functional hiPSC-derived (human-induced pluripotent stem cells) MGE-INs.
My project will develop a protocol to derive MGE-organoids from healthy control lines and ASD-mutated lines to study the impact of abnormal interneuron development on ASD. My research question addresses the differences in the development of MGE-interneurons in control and ASD-mutated lines. My work offers insight on a novel model to study interneuron development in health and disease, which will be applicable to neuropsychiatric disorders where aberrant interneuron development may occur.
Message To Sponsor
Once again, thank you so much for your contribution in funding the ability to carry out my research project. My experience as a scholar shaped critical thinking and analytical patterns that prove important as a future scientist, as this project made me rethink a lot of my previous understandings. This summer project cemented a clear path of my future interests in RNA-sequencing and neural stem cell biology focusing on the developing neocortex. Thank you so so much for your funding, it allowed a future scientist to realize his true passions.