On Thursday (8.10) we will host PhD Femke MS de Vrij^1,2 Her lecture will be entitled: "Human iPSC-derived models to study neuropsychiatric disorders". The lecture will take place at 3 p.m. in the Konorki lecture hall and it will be followed by a get together.

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
² ENCORE Expertise Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, NL

Abstract:

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide a powerful approach to study neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in living human brain cells. Our work uses hiPSC-based models to understand how disease-associated genetic variation affects human brain development and function, spanning neurons and different glial cell types, including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia, as well as functional neural networks and brain organoids.

Patient-derived and genetically engineered models allow genetic findings to be translated into experimentally accessible cellular phenotypes, while combining different neural cell types enables investigation of their interactions in health and disease. Increasing model complexity further, brain organoids capture aspects of human neural development and tissue organization. Our adherent cortical organoid model combines three-dimensional cortical organization with experimental accessibility and long-term culture.

Finally, xenotransplantation extends human stem cell modelling into the intact brain. Our recent work in Angelman syndrome combines human neuronal xenotransplantation with human-specific antisense oligonucleotides targeting paternal UBE3A reactivation, illustrating how these models can bridge human disease mechanisms and therapeutic development.

Together, these complementary approaches connect genetic variation to human cellular mechanisms across increasing levels of biological complexity.