Fleischmann Lab
Principal Investigator: Alexander Fleischmann
Institution: Brown University (Providence, RI)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project summary Understanding brain function critically depends on knowing the identities of neural cell types. The olfactory (piriform, PCx) cortex is the main recipient of afferent inputs from the olfactory bulb and plays key roles in odor perception and memory. However, we lack a detailed molecular description of piriform cell types and the molecular machinery that defines their functional properties. Furthermore, and in contrast to sensory and motor areas in the neocortex, the genetic programs underlying PCx cell lineage specification during development remain largely unknown. A comparative analysis of cell types in the PCx and neocortex will reveal piriform- specific cell types and molecular features. Here, we propose to determine the gene expression and chromatin accessibility states of PCx neurons in the adult mouse, and to characterize the dynamic interaction of domains of regulatory chromatin and transcription factor activity that drive cell lineage specification during development. Our central hypothesis is that cell type identity in PCx is specified during development by the activity of piriform-specific gene regulatory network (GRN) activity. We further posit that GRN a…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01DC020478-04: Gene regulatory network control of olfactory cortex cell type specification (2026)
- 5R01DC020478-03: Gene regulatory network control of olfactory cortex cell type specification (2025)
- 5R01DC020478-02: Gene regulatory network control of olfactory cortex cell type specification (2024)
- 1R21DC021540-01A1: Convergence of behavioral and sensory information in olfactory cortex (2024)
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