Guillemot lab Neural Stem Cell Biology Laboratory

Neural Stem Cell

We study how, where and when nervous system cells develop to learn more about how the human brain works.

All of the many different cells that work together in the human brain and nervous system to allow us to navigate and respond to the world originate from one kind of cell that scientists call a stem cell.

In our lab we look closely at what influences stem cells to guide them to become one, or another, type of cell in the brain.

Our aim is to learn exactly how cells of the nervous system form, where and at what stage in development, so that we can generate new ideas for therapies to treat brain disorders. To do this we use cells from mice and cells from humans.

We are really interested in how stem cells respond to the stream of signals flowing through the tissues around them to either divide, stay the same or develop into a defined cell type.

As brain cells develop we know they leave the layers of stem cells where they were born and move towards other brain cells to create circuits. We study how such precise movement is controlled in healthy tissues and in cells that don’t follow the normal pattern to learn more about diseases that affect the human brain.