Control of Cerebral Cortical Proliferation

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The vast majority of the neurons of the mammalian brain are generated during embryonic development. Thus, precise regulation of developmental cell division is necessary so that the correct number of cells populates each part of the brain in maturity. The cerebral cortex is the largest part of the brain and its development is especially highly ordered: a combination of innate genetic programs and environmental influences act together to control cell division during the formation of the cortex. This project will focus on the role of one kind of communication between dividing cell in controlling the extent of cortical cell division. In particular, it will assess the influences of signaling via the Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and the ephrin ligands in modulating cerebral cortical cell division. The project uses cells in culture or animal models, genetic and epigenetic approaches, and gain- and loss- of function paradigms to investigate the role of Eph signaling in producing the proper cellular composition in the developing mouse cerebral cortex. This award will serve to train future scientific thinkers. Housed in an undergraduate Biology Department, the Principal Investigator teaches, mentors, and trains college students, both science and non-science students, as well as Neuroscience graduate students. In addition, the PI is actively engaged in promoting careers in science and increasing the numbers of traditionally underrepresented groups in science through outreach work with the community. The studies described in this project will further our understanding of the role of cell-cell communication in corticogenesis and will introduce a large number of students to scientific research.