WELCOME TO OUR LAB!

Stem cell and Developmental neurobiology. Pierre Vanderhaeghen Lab.

FROM STEM CELLS TO NEURAL CIRCUITS :

DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN CEREBRAL CORTEX.

The cerebral cortex is arguably the most complex and important structure in our brain, and contributes in an essential way to who we are, as a species and as individuals.

The major research goal in our laboratory is to unravel some of the key mechanisms controlling the development of the cerebral cortex, from stem cells to neuronal circuits, in link with human brain evolution and diseases.

OUR PROJECTS

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

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Microcephaly genes / linking neurogenesis and evolution of brain size

Microcephaly genes / linking neurogenesis and evolution of brain size

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Human-specific genes, cortical development, and brain evolution.

Human-specific genes, cortical development, and brain evolution.

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Mechanisms controlling the timing of human neuronal maturation: the cellular basis of human brain neoteny.

Mechanisms controlling the timing of human neuronal maturation: the cellular basis of human brain neoteny.

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Modeling of neurodevelopmental disorders in human neurons in vivo.

Modeling of neurodevelopmental disorders in human neurons in vivo.

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Function and plasticity of transplanted human neurons: from circuit development to brain repair.

Function and plasticity of transplanted human neurons: from circuit development to brain repair.

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Papers

Developmental mechanisms underlying the evolution of human cortical circuits

Vanderhaeghen P, Polleux F. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-023-00675-z  

https://rdcu.be/c5Hqn

LRRC37B is a species-specific regulator of voltage-gated channels and excitability in human cortical...

Libé-Philippot B, Lejeune A, Wierda K, Vlaeminck I, Beckers S, Gaspariunaite V, Bilheu A, Nyitrai H, Vennekens KM, Bird TW, Soto D, Dennis MY, Comoletti D, Theys T, de Wit J*, Vanderhaeghen P*. bioRxiv, 21 Dec 2022

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.21.521423v3

Mitochondria metabolism sets the species-specific tempo of neuronal development.

Iwata R*, Casimir P*, Erkol E, Boubakar L, Planque M, Gallego López IM, Ditkowska M, Gaspariunaite V, Beckers S, Remans D, Vints K, Vandekeere A, Poovathingal S, Bird M, Vlaeminck I, Creemers E, Wierda K, Corthout N, Vermeersch P, Carpentier S, Davie K, Mazzone M, Gounko NV, Aerts S, Ghesqui&...

https://www.science.org/stoken/author-tokens/ST-993/full

OUTREACH

PRESS & MEDIA

Coverage on Suzuki Cell 2018 in the Economist

Link

Coverage on Suzuki 2018 in The New Scientist

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Coverage on Suzuki 2018 in Le Soir

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Coverage on Suzuki 2018 in Science magazine

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Coverage on Suzuki 2018 in VRT

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Coverage on Suzuki 2018 in Het laatste nieuws

Link

Our lab is part of the VIB-KULeuven Centre for Brain and Disease Research, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, at KULeuven, and of IRIBHM, ULB, Brussels.

CONTACT

PIERRE VANDERHAEGHEN

MD, PhD

Stem Cell and Developmental Neurobiology Lab
VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research
Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute
O&N4 Herestraat 49 box 602 | 3000 Leuven | Belgium

Email : pierre.vanderhaeghen@kuleuven.vib.be