Kenneth T. Norris Prof of Psychiatry
@Stanford
; Uytengsu Director of
@BrOrganogenesis
; Physician-Scientist; Seeking to understand human brain assembly & disease
Today, I’m thrilled have our lab’s work featured on the cover of
@Nature
In this article, we have developed a therapeutic approach for a severe condition called Timothy syndrome. This has been a long journey. It started with making hiPS cell-derived neurons in 2D cultures 15
Glad to share our latest work out in
@Nature
today
We show that human cortical
#organoids
transplanted into the somatosensory cortex of newborn rats develop mature cell types and integrate into sensory circuits and can influence reward-seeking behavior
Delighted to share the latest paper in Cell
@CellPressNews
today— a comprehensive overview of human brain organogenesis in vivo, ex vivo & in vitro, including work using
#assembloids
,
#organoids
& disease models. Effort led by the amazing
@kevinwkelley
!
There are now hundreds of genes associated with autism & neurodevelopmental disorders but what
key processes in brain development they each disrupt remains unknown.
In an article in
@Nature
today, we start tackling this question by combining forebrain
#assembloids
with CRISPR
Self-organizing systems have been one of the most exciting recent advances in stem cell research
However, many names & classifications are used making it challenging to convey the science
We now got together as a field to provide a nomenclature framework
Out in
@Nature
today👇1/9
How do we go about generating neural cell types in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells?
Generally, we leverage relevant morphogen pathways and iteratively modulate them by trial and error to generate a cell population of interest. This is tedious and we yet have to learn
Today we are sharing our most complex
#assembloid
to date: a 4-part model of the human ascending neural somatosensory pathway generated by functionally integrating stem cell-derived cerebral cortical, thalamic, spinal and sensory
#organoids
.
Check out the
@biorxivpreprint
and
Our new collaborative work on intrinsic maturation in cortical
#organoids
kept for almost 2 years is out in
@NatureNeuro
. The switch in receptor subunits is one of the interesting findings. We mention limitations also in the
@ScienceMagazine
coverage below
Today we report in
@CellCellPress
the most advanced
#assembloid
so far to build the human corticomotor pathway from stem cell-derived parts. This circuit self-assembles & cortical stimulation triggers muscle responses. Led by the amazing
@jimena_andersen
Hundreds of genes have been associated with autism & neurodev disorders
But how do these genes impact specific stages in human development?
In a new preprint,
@XianglingM
took a bold approach & developed CRISPR screens in
#assembloids
to map 425 genes on interneuron dev stages 👇
We've received many inquiries lately, and it took us some time to plan.
However, a new edition of the highly popular hands-on
@BrOrganogenesis
course on neural
#organoids
&
#assembloids
is now scheduled for April 2024 at
@Stanford
!
We expect hundreds of applications for just
Teaching & implementing methods is as important as developing them
Glad to announce another international hands-on course on human models of neural development in our
@Stanford
@BrOrganogenesis
Come learn how to make & probe
#organoids
&
#assembloids
Deadline Nov 1
Please RT
There has been important progress in transplanting human stem cell-derived neurons in animals to advance maturation and to construct circuits in vivo.
In this perspective coming out today in Cell
@CellCellPress
I highlight the applications in neuroscience of the current and
Generating neural
#organoids
in suspension can be relatively straightforward. But scaling production is challenged by undesired fusion. In a new
@biorxivpreprint
Genta &
@myym_yuki
identify a cheap polymer to add that allows 1 person to grow >2400 organoids and run a drug screen
Honored to receive the 2024
@ISSCR
Momentum award for our work developing stem cell-based models of neurodevelopmental disorders!
This would not have been possible without the dedication of both current and past members of the lab 🙏
Terribly saddened by the loss of a close friend and mentor—the remarkable Lubert Stryer.
In med school in Romania, we had just one copy of his story-like textbook that made biochemistry fascinating and addictive. He was always amused to hear that we were fighting over that one
Check out our latest
@biorxivpreprint
Collaborative work with the
@GeschwindLab
to explore shared and distinct molecular signatures in cortical
#organoids
from 70 hiPS cell lines representing 8 different neurodevelopmental disorders, idiopathic autism spectrum disorder patients
The newest 3D brain
#assembloid
to build from parts & probe human cortico-striatal interactions, and to study disease is out in
@NatureBiotech
. Check this short summary of the article prepared by our very own
@myym_yuki
who bravely led this effort in lab!
Here is a graphic summary of our new paper in
@Science
. We map
#chromatin
dynamics in neurons & glia up to 600 day-long forebrain
#organoids
. We find an intrinsic program of maturation in vitro including a 'wave' of chromatin changes in corticogenesis & map disease risk over time
Deeply honored to received the endowed Keneth T. Norris Jr. Professorship in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at
@Stanford
University!
Grateful for the incredible trainees & lab alumni and their dedication to understanding development and disorders of the human brain 🙏
Congratulations,
@Sergiu_P_Pasca
! 🎉
Stanford Bio-X affiliated faculty member and Clark Center building resident faculty member Sergiu Pașca has been named the Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences!
Today we report in
@NatureBiotech
a new device inspired by the Japanese art of kirigami that can continuously & non-invasively record electrical signals from 3D neural
#organoids
and
#assembloids
for long periods of time.
Close collaborative work with
@BianxiaoC
under the
A few years ago we modeled the descending 3-part cortico-spinal-muscle pathway in functional
#assembloids
derived from stem cells
We now report the construction from 4 parts of the human ascending (spino-thalamic) sensory pathway in
#somatosensory
#assembloids
This pathway
Delighted to receive the 2021 Altman Award in Developmental Neuroscience. Really honored as Drs Altman & Bayer’s work has been so inspiring & still a key part of my NeuroDev class
@Stanford
. Looking fw to speaking in July @ China-Korea-Japan Neurosci conf
How do changes in oxygen affect human brain development? In a new
@NatureMedicine
paper, we built a model of hypoxic injury in brain region-specific organoids to investigate cell vulnerability in cortex. Work led by
@NeoPascaLab
collab with the
@WillseyLab
Lots of applications still coming in for our tuition-free practical course on neural
#organoids
&
#assembloids
here at
@Stanford
.
We decided to extend the deadline until November 16 to make sure everybody is sending the required materials.
Looking forward to meeting an
Delighted that our
@Nature
consensus article on
#organoids
#assembloids
#transplantation
is now open access!
Grateful for our incredible working group and hopeful that this short piece covering nomenclature & misconceptions will reach more readers
Check our new article this week in
@NatureProtocols
on engineering human neural circuits using
#assembloids
. You’ll find detailed experimental approaches & tips on making assembloids and implementing advanced functional assays. Spearheaded by
@myym_yuki
👏
I am incredibly honored to receive the 2021 Judson Daland Prize from the American Philosophical Society-the oldest learned society in the US founded in 1743 by B. Franklin. So grateful for my incredible lab & their dedication to understanding brain disease
Our latest work is now on
@biorxivpreprint
. Here, we use forebrain
#assembloids
from patients with Timothy syndrome carrying a CACNA1C point mutation to investigate the molecular basis of interneuron migration. Work spearheaded by
@fikribirey
in the lab!
Long-term minimally-invasive recordings from human neural
#organoids
&
#assembloids
have been challenging.
Inspired by the art of
#kirigami
and as part of a close collaboration with
@BianxiaoC
’s lab in the
@BrOrganogenesis
, Xiao Yang and Csaba Forro developed flexible
In our
@Nature
paper published last week, we identified a potential therapeutic for Timothy Syndrome (TS) using human neural
#organoids
,
#assembloids
and neurons from TS patients transplanted into rats.
Here’s a more detailed description of what we found 👇
Drs. Sergiu Pasca (
@PascaStanford
), Hunter Fraser (
@FraserLab
) & colleagues study species divergence in cerebral cortical development by differentiating cells into neural
#organoids
. 🧠
@nature
The time has come to announce the speakers for another spectacular
@CSHL
meeting on human brain development and 3D models
#organoids
#assembloids
that I have the great honor to organize with Guo-Li Ming
@UPenn_SongMing
Check out the list and mark your calendar
If you're interested in learning about brain assembloids, the ways to make them, and how they may help understand cell-cell interactions in the brain, circuit formation and disease, check this perspective in Science
@sciencemagazine
#assembloids
#organoids
My heartfelt gratitude for the committee that selected our work for the 2022 IBRO-Kemali International Prize
@ibroSecretariat
. This recognition goes to all the students, postdocs, residents & scientists in the lab🙏 Onwards towards understanding neural dev & treating 🧠 disorders
The IBRO-Kemali Prize Committee is pleased to announce that Dr. Sergiu P. Pasca,
@PascaStanford
, has been awarded the 2022 IBRO-Dargut and Milena Kemali International Prize! He will receive the award and give a special lecture at
#FENS2022
Today we welcome in our
@BrOrganogenesis
a select group of 27 trainees from all over the world— from India to New Zealand, from Japan to Argentina, from Israel to the UK or the USA— for an immersive week of experiments, lectures & discussions on neural
#organoids
&
#assembloids
Thrilled to see this extraordinary new program in psychiatry taking shape at
@Stanford
under the innovative leadership of my colleague, collaborator & mentor
@KarlDeisseroth
Today I want to acknowledge 3 spectacular scientists in lab who have taken the lead in organizing a very successful international
@BrOrganogenesis
course!
Very proud of you & the entire lab for all the effort preparing for weeks to openly share our
#organoids
#assembloids
methods
Proud of current lab members and Pasca Lab alumni gathering at
#SfN23
in Washington DC!
So great to see the great science coming out of their own researcher groups.
Soon several more labs to open…all doing creative human neurobiology
@Sloan_Lab
lab
@MakinsonLab
lab
Updated on the hands-on
@BrOrganogenesis
course on
#organoids
&
#assembloids
:
We received hundreds of applications— at least 10x more applicants that we can take. Please have patience as a decision is being made. Our goal is to announce the 2023 cohort around 12/01.
Thank you 🙏
Check out Sabina Kanton’s detailed poster and the accompanying article on
#assembloids
that was just published in
@Dev_journal
Covers various types of assembloids one can build across tissues, applications & the tools to probe & manipulate them in vitro
Exciting to see
#assembloids
as a 2021 Method to Watch
@naturemethods
. More on this preparation & subtypes in the
@ScienceMagazine
piece here: from initial forebrain assembloids to capture migration to multi-regional assembloids to study connections:
Method to Watch by Nina Vogt: Assembloids are emerging models for studying human brain development, complex neural circuits or interactions between different tissues.
Honored to receive the 2020 C.J. Herrick Award from AAA
@AnatomyOrg
. Looking forward to giving this lecture at the Experimental Biology
@expbio
meeting, which will now take place next year. Grateful for the wonderfully talented trainees & staff in my lab
@Stanford
and my mentors.
An exciting paper from the lab in
@naturemethods
today showing high reliability in generating brain region specific
#organoids
using our initial cortical spheroid method plus details on a feeder-free, xeno-free version:
Superb summary and thoughful perspective on our recent
@Nature
article by
@SilviaM_Velasco
especially in outlining the need for multi-level approaches, including
#organoids
#assembloids
& in vivo transplantation, to develop therapeutics for severe brain disorders
In a landmark study, researchers led by
@ErikaHolzbaur
@UPennPhysiology
discovered & filmed the molecular details of how a cell, just before it divides in two, shuffles mitochondria to distribute them evenly to its two daughter cells
We're excited to welcome our new cohort of Investigators! 86 awardees from
@Stanford
,
@UCSF
, and
@UCBerkeley
from a broad range of disciplines will undertake creative and innovative research to help solve the biggest challenges in biomedicine.
Truly honored to become a CZI Ben Barres Investigator today. Ben has been an amazing mentor and friend and incredibly supportive as we’ve been developing our 3D cellular models. He would have been so excited to see this initiative! Thank you
@cziscience
A few years ago, Sergiu Pasca, MD, coaxed skin cells to form parts of the brain, dubbing the models assembloids. Now they’re being put to work to expand knowledge about the brain and brain disorders.
@Sergiu_P_Pasca
#Innovation
#Neuroscience
#Science
Short summary of a recent lab preprint by the brilliant Ji-Il Kim & Yuki Miura
@myym_yuki
with key contributions from the talented Min-Yin Li
@Minyin_Li
building functional connections in
#assembloids
of the forebrain & diencephalon to study CACNA1G channelopathies
Congratulations to Rebecca Marton in the lab who recently defended her PhD thesis
@Stanford
with (literally) a standing ovation! Very proud! Terrific scientist and this is just the beginning of many discoveries to come. Congrats!!
#oligodendrocytes
#organoids
#assembloids
Very excited to announce that we will organize the first hands-on workshop on
#brain
#organoids
@Stanford
. Support from
@StanfordBrain
. If interested in learning how to generate brain-region specific organoids, assemble and probe them, apply here:
Check out the remarkable 2024 international class of our Stanford
@BrOrganogenesis
course on neural
#assembloids
&
#organoids
!
Taking a selfie right after the now classic ceremony of pinning their country of origin on a world map. What an amazing group!
My deepest
Join us to perform curiosity-driven neuroscience research as part of an ambitious effort at
@Stanford
&
@StanfordBioX
!
Several staff positions for experienced & less experienced scientists interested in brain
#assembloids
&
#organoids
!
See links here👇
I hoped we could have an in person, 3rd CSHL 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟑𝐃 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧. Guo-li Ming & I decided to move it to 2022. No doubt it will be best so far! See speakers👇
#organoids
#assembloids
#disease
Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd poster session
@CSHL
conference on brain development and 3D modeling who received a special prize highlighting consensus work of the field 👏👏👏
#cshlbrain
Congratulations to the winners of the poster session
#1
@CSHL
conference on brain development and 3D modeling who received a special prize highlighting consensus work of the field 👏👏👏
#cshlbrain
Our overview out in
@Nature
this week on the recent breakthrough advances to grow mouse embryos in vitro to stages not reached before
#embryoids
#stemcells
With the great
@neal_amin
👇
Stanford Bio-X faculty member and Clark Center resident Sergiu Pasca (
@PascaStanford
)'s development of 3D brain assembloids is featured in Nature!
Check out "The rise of the assembloid":
I first met
@Sergiu_P_Pasca
(
@Stanford
) in 2022, when RO President Klaus Iohannis met w/ a group of Romanians from Silicon Valley.
It was my honor to host last week the decoration ceremony with the National Order "For Merit" in the rank of Officer, awarded by our 🇷🇴President.
Applications for the
@Stanford
hands-on course on human neural
#organoids
and
#assembloids
in the
@BrOrganogenesis
are pouring in.
Less than two weeks before the deadline.
For those still working on their application, please spend some time succinctly but clearly articulating