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Caltech

CPA Postdoc L(a)unch – August 11

Friday, August 11, 2023
12:00pm to 1:00pm
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Caltech Hall 9th Floor
  • Public Event

Dr. Pallavi Panda, BBE

Brain Organoids: 3D Balls of Brain-Like Tissue Grown in the Lab

Lunch will be provided starting 11:45 AM!

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Brain Organoids: 3D Balls of Brain-Like Tissue Grown in the Lab

Brain organoids often referred to as "mini-brains" or "brain-in-a-dish" are miniature three-dimensional structures that are generated from stem cells in the laboratory. These structures are a game-changer in neuroscience owing to their ability to mimic some of the characteristics of a developing brain, including the capacity to generate different types of brain cells and form basic neural connections.  Such organoids are an important tool for studying brain development and disease such as neurodevelopmental disorders that are otherwise too complex to be studied in two-dimensional and/or non-mammalian models. However, it is important to note that these structures lack advanced brain functions and some of the more complex features of a mature brain and while researchers have made significant progress in growing brain organoids, there is still much that we do not know about how they relate to the human brain. Ultimately, the promise of brain organoids is to unveil previously inaccessible features of neurobiology that emerge from complex cellular interactions and to improve our mechanistic understanding of neural development and diseases.

For more information, please contact Yupeng Zhang, Sol A Lee, Simon Mahler, and Marianne Aellen by email at [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].