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07/18: "Building a Brain During Development"
Introduction by Louis J. Ptáček

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Abstract for 07/17:
During the development of the mammalian cerebral cortex, progenitor cells produce neurons that migrate into specific laminar positions, adopt discrete neuronal identities, and form appropriate local and long-distance axonal connections. Two major classes of cortical neurons include cells that form connections to subcortical targets including the midbrain and spinal cord, and those that extend axons to cortical targets, including those that cross the corpus callosum to reach the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. We have identified two pathways that regulate the adoption of a subcortical vs. callosal projection neurons fates. Subcortical projection neurons require the expression of the zinc-finger transcription factor Fezf2 and its downstream effector Ctip2. The disruption of Fezf2 leads to molecular, morphological and axonal targeting defects in these neurons: neurons fail form normal projections into the corticospinal tract and instead project axons to the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. Callosal projection neurons, in contrast, express the chromatin remodeling protein Satb2, which is required for the formation of callosal projections. In the absence of Satb2, callosal projection neurons adopt a subcortical projection neuron fate. The Fezf2/Ctip2 and Satb2 pathways are mutually inhibitory, thus ensuring that cortical projection neurons adopt a discrete identity during development.

Abstract for 07/18:
The brain is nature's most amazing achievement. From simple nervous systems to the most complex, the precise wiring between nerve cells enables animals to sense the world, perform sophisticated behaviors, feel emotions, learn, and remember. Arguably the greatest miracle in developmental biology is the ability of these neural circuits to assemble themselves, in space and in time, with each neuron forming the connections that are appropriate for the role that it plays in the circuit. In this lecture I will explore the processes that support normal development in the mammalian cerebral cortex, including how the early neural tube is patterned into functionally discrete regions, the processes of asymmetric cell division that generate young neurons, the long migratory journeys that neurons must take to reach their final destinations in the brain, and finally the mechanisms by which each neuron in the cortex is assigned a particular pattern of connections. Collectively, these processes create the core neural circuits that underlie our highest cognitive and emotional abilities.

Susan K. McConnell is the Susan B. Ford Professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, where she has taught since 1989.

Dr. McConnell received an A.B. in Biology from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges in 1980 and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Harvard University in 1987 under the guidance of Simon Levay, famous for his studies of brain structure and sexual orientation. She obtained postdoctoral training researching mammalian brain development at the Stanford University School of Medicine with neurobiologist Carla J. Shatz.

Dr. McConnell’s current professional activities include co-chairing the National Advisory Board of the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences and sitting on the Board of Scientific Advisors for the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund. She has held several editorial positions in academic journals throughout her career including service on the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science magazine.

Dr. McConnell has won numerous honors for her research and teaching including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a McKnight Investigator Award and the Stanford University Fellowship in Undergraduate Education. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and co-editor of the popular neurobiology textbook Fundamental Neuroscience (Academic Press, 2002).

Stephen C. Reingold will introduce Dr. McConnell on Thursday, July 17. Dr. Reingold is President of Scientific and Clinical Review Associates, LLC., a consulting group that provides strategic guidance in scientific research, pharmaceutical and biotech product development, and clinical trial design and implementation in neurology.

Dr. Reingold has over 35 years of experience in biomedical research and administration focused on neuroscience. He obtained a B.S. with honors from the University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology from Cornell University, and undertook postdoctoral research and teaching at Princeton University. He was a Grass Fellow at the MBL and later Associate Director of the Grass Fellowship Program; he now serves as a Trustee of the Foundation.

Beginning in 1983, Dr. Reingold served with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for 22 years where he was Vice President for Research Programs. His responsibilities there included directing, evaluating, and managing the world’s largest private MS research and research training program, and he served the Society as a communicator and public spokesperson on scientific and clinical issues.

Dr. Reingold has extensive experience with industry, academic and foundation research programs and has over 60 relevant professional publications.

Louis J. Ptáček will introduce Dr. McConnell on Friday, July 18. Dr. Ptácek is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator as well as the Coleman Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Ptáček’s research focuses on the study of rare, single-gene disorders that may yield insights into common and complex diseases. His goal is to understand aspects of normal brain function, including human sleep behavior, and the molecular basis of diseases such as epilepsy and migraine headache.

Dr. Ptáček earned a B.S. in mathematics and an M.D. in medicine from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He followed his degrees with residencies in the neurology and human genetics departments at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Dr. Ptáček serves on a number editorial boards including the Journal of Neuroscience and is the chair of the NINDS Board of Scientific Counselors. He was recently elected to the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Science and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.