Chen, Bin - University of California, Santa Cruz - Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology Faculty

个人简介

B.S., Beijing University M.S., Beijing University Ph.D., SUNY Stony Brook Postdoctorate, Stanford University

研究领域

Mammalian Brain Development Proper generation of different neuronal subtypes in the cerebral cortex and their precise wiring into functional neural circuits underlie our most sophisticated cognitive and perceptual abilities. When this process goes awry, neurological disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression, and obsessive compulsive behavior, can arise. Research in our laboratory is focused on the molecular mechanisms that regulate the neural stem cells to generate different types of neurons and determining how they are wired into functional neural circuits. Neurons in the cerebral cortex are organized into 6 layers. Within each layer, neurons tend to share characteristic physiological properties and axonal projections. During development, cortical neurons are generated in the ventricular zone, which contains dividing stem cells that appear morphologically indistinguishable. These cells generate young neurons that migrate into the cortical plate in an inside-out manner, with early-born neurons in the deepest cortical layers and newer neurons migrating past the older cells to form upper layers. Our group uses a combination of genetic loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches to investigate genes that regulate the differentiation of seemingly homogeneous neural stem cells into the diverse neuronal phenotypes that populate the mature cerebral cortex. We are currently identifying candidate genes that likely regulate cortical projection neuron fates and testing their functions during differentiation of neural stem cells into different neural types, and in neural circuit formation during development.

近期论文

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TBR1 regulates autism risk genes in the developing neocortex. Notwell JH, Heavner WE, Darbandi SF, Katzman S, McKenna WL, Ortiz-Londono CF, Tastad D, Eckler MJ, Rubenstein JL, McConnell SK, Chen B, Bejerano G. Genome Res. 2016 Aug;26(8):1013-22. doi: 10.1101/gr.203612.115. Epub 2016 Jun 20. Fezf1 and Fezf2 are required for olfactory development and sensory neuron identity. Eckler MJ, McKenna WL, Taghvaei S, McConnell SK, Chen B. J Comp Neurol. 2011 Jul 1;519(10):1829-46. doi: 10.1002/cne.22596. The Fezf2-Ctip2 genetic pathway regulates the fate choice of subcortical projection neurons in the developing cerebral cortex. Chen B, Wang SS, Hattox AM, Rayburn H, Nelson SB, McConnell SK. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 12;105(32):11382-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804918105. Epub 2008 Aug 4. The determination of projection neuron identity in the developing cerebral cortex. Leone DP, Srinivasan K, Chen B, Alcamo E, McConnell SK. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2008 Feb;18(1):28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2008.05.006. Epub 2008 May 26. Review. Fezl regulates the differentiation and axon targeting of layer 5 subcortical projection neurons in cerebral cortex. Chen B, Schaevitz LR, McConnell SK. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Nov 22;102(47):17184-9. Epub 2005 Nov 11. Gene targeting using a promoterless gene trap vector ("targeted trapping") is an efficient method to mutate a large fraction of genes. Friedel RH, Plump A, Lu X, Spilker K, Jolicoeur C, Wong K, Venkatesh TR, Yaron A, Hynes M, Chen B, Okada A, McConnell SK, Rayburn H, Tessier-Lavigne M. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Sep 13;102(37):13188-93. Epub 2005 Aug 29.