Charles H. Hood Foundation Award - Dori Schafer, PhD
Date Posted: Tuesday, June 07, 2016
Dori is one of six recipients of a two-year child Health Research Award.
“The function of Immune cells and Sensory Experience on Brain Circuit Development”
Aberrant synaptic connectivity and abnormal sensory perception are hallmark features of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Interestingly, these defects are often accompanied by abnormally reactive microglia, resident brain immune cells, but is unclear if these pathologies are mechanistically linked. Using a combination of super-resolution imaging and powerful molecular genetic approaches (CRISPR/Cas9, viral-mediated gene delivery, etc.) in the mouse, we will determine how visual and somatosensory experience regulate microglia function at developing neural circuits. Long term, we will apply this basic science to identify how these processes go awry in ASDS with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets.