Program Faculty

The Jiang lab studies the cellular and molecular basis of human neural development and pathogenesis of neurological disorders by using human patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (a.k.a. iPSCs). We create iPSC-based in vitro cerebral organoid model and in vivo human-mouse chimeric brain model to investigate mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder), as well as age-related neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease). In addition, human iPSCs hold great promise for developing cell therapies to replace damaged brain cells and restore brain functions after CNS injury. We also study how to derive functionally competent neural cells, particularly macroglial and microglial cells, from human iPSCs for neural repair. The basic and translational stem cell research we are pursuing critically bridges between the understanding of human neural development and degeneration in normal and diseased conditions, and the development of stem cell medicine to treat neurological disorders.

Publications

NCBI Bibliography