My lab is focused on understanding fundamental mechanisms involved in brain development and brain function with an emphasis on how dysfunction in these mechanisms can result in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. By focusing on key developmental genes that are associated with psychiatric risk, my research group is both improving our primary understanding of brain development while also making significant inroads into identifying pathophysiological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders.

A current focus of my lab is to understand the function of Transcription Factor 4 (TCF4) gene. TCF4 is a clinically pleiotropic gene having association with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autosomal dominant mutations in TCF4 result in Pitt Hopkins syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with a variety of symptoms including developmental delays, intellectual disability, absent speech, and breathing abnormalities. My group has shown that TCF4 is an activity-dependent transcription factor that is a critical regulator of cortical development. We have shown that TCF4 regulates several developmental steps including cell fate specification, neuronal migration, cortical column formation, and neuronal excitability.

Recently, my group demonstrated that TCF4 directly regulates oligodendrocyte development and myelination. This work has led to the hypothesis that defects in myelination are a common pathophysiology across the autism spectrum. We are now working on genetic and pharmacological approaches to rescue myelination in PTHS models, with the ultimate goal of applying these therapeutic approaches more broadly to ASD.