Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying neurogenesis in the adult and aged brain
Date: Friday, April 7, 2017
Time: 3:10pm
Place: 107 Norman Smith Hall, University of Maine campus, Orono
Speaker: Ashley Webb, Ph.D. of Brown University
The goal of our work is to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying neurogenesis and the decline in neural stem cell function (NSC) during aging. We are investigating how transcription factor networks regulate NSC homeostasis, and discovering ways to rejuvenate NSCs and increase new neuron formation in the aged or diseased brain. Specifically, we are addressing the question of how transcriptional networks and signaling pathways regulate the activation of quiescent NSCs in mouse and human cells. Understanding how quiescent NSCs are activated to form new neurons will better our understanding of why these processes decline with age, and ultimately how to treat age-related and neurodegenerative disease pathologies.