Milton E. Cassel Scholar

Assistant Professor, Neurology

B.Sc., University of California, Santa Barbara

Ph.D, University of California, San Francisco

The establishment of functional neural circuits relies on the ability of neurons to discriminate self from non-self. This self/non-self discrimination requires the generation of an astonishing number of cell-surface protein “barcodes” that uniquely “mark” individual neurons with their own identity. Neurons expressing the same barcodes repel one another, while neurons expressing different barcodes are allowed to interact. Given that a human brain houses billions of neurons, how this remarkable number of cell-surface barcodes is generated from a single genome remains a mystery. Research at the Canzio Lab points to a new role of genome architecture and its dynamics in the regulation of the transcriptional diversity underlying the barcoding strategy of neurons to recognize self from non-self, providing a novel mechanism to achieve cellular individuality. Our findings have broad implications, from uncovering the molecular basis of neural wiring during brain development to revealing new insights on the role of genome structure in defining cellular fate and function.