WHAT WE DO
Our research focuses on understanding how glial immunity controls health and disease
in the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS).
Using advanced technologies, we investigate the dynamic interactions between glial cells and immune cells to understand inflammation and tissue homeostasis, aiming to develop
novel therapeutic approaches for neurological and gastrointestinal disease.
GLIAL HETEROGENEITY
We focus on unraveling the heterogeneity of glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and enteric nervous system (ENS) in the context of health and disease. We use a combination of single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics, high resolution imaging, and cell type-specific genetic perturbations to identify their roles in neurodevelopmental processes, neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation.
GLIAL EPIGENETICS
We are interested on glial epigenetics, exploring how epigenetic mechanisms regulate the functional heterogeneity of glial cells . At a cellular level, how does epigenetic reprogramming influence glial cell fate and their protective and pathological roles? How long can these epigenetic changes persist, and what factors determine their stability or reversibility? Understanding glial epigenetics has important implications for treating neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and neuroinflammatory diseases.
GLIAL-IMMUNE INTERACTION
Our research on glial-immune interactions investigates how glial cells communicate with and regulate immune cells within the nervous system. We employ recent advanced techniques for the studying cell-cell interactions, such as SPEAC-seq, to explore these questions in neurological and inflammatory disorders, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).