There has been considerable progress in understanding the specification of neuronal cell fates and in directing the differentiation of hESCs toward a large diversity of neuronal subtypes. However, the generation of mature adult-like neurons from hESCs remains a major bottleneck in the field and appears to be limited by the prolonged maturation program intrinsic to human neurons.

My research focuses on identifying genetic factors controlling the sequence and timing of neuronal maturation and in the development of induced-maturation paradigms in hESCs differentiations.