Assistant Professor, UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, CA
Transcriptomic processes shape body growth and development. Gene expression at early developmental stages determines tissue functions in later life, including vulnerability to diseases. Transcriptomic profiles are also key factors that contribute to sex differences and determine how health and disease processes differ among women and men. We are using RNA-seq to study developmental transcriptomes of tissues that are related to neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. We aim to understand the age-related trajectories of gene expression that if perturbed may lead to pathologies. We have facilitated investigations of developmental trajectories of gene expression in males and females and across ontogenic development by characterizing the developmental transcriptome in the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus), a model non-human primate species the phylogenetic proximity of which to humans is reflected in a high conservation of behavioral and physiological processes that make this species widely used in biomedical research.
Hippocampus is one of the brain tissues most relevant to human psychopathologies. It is a seahorse-shaped structure in the temporal lobe of the brain and plays a key role in consolidating long- and short –term memory, and in spatial navigation. It is also one of the first brain regions impacted by the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. We conducted RNA-seq of the hippocampal transcriptome across postnatal development, from infancy to adulthood, in vervet males and females. This dataset ideally suits the identification of age- and sex- specific gene expression differences in the hippocampus. We expect to identify genes or transcript isoforms with extreme temporary expression patterns. For example, transcripts expressed only during a brief period in early development could reflect a time window critical for developing vulnerability to diseases.
Materials are under development.
Materials are under development.