Joshua Erndt-Marino Granted NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship Award to Study Autism Spectrum Disorder

 

Joshua Erndt-Marino, PhD

INSciDE researcher Joshua Erndt-Marino, PhD, has been awarded an individual postdoctoral fellowship to investigate mechanisms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using bioengineered, 3-dimensional human brain-like tissues. Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from both healthy patients and donors with a well-studied monogenetic ASD-related disorder, Fragile-X syndrome, he seeks to incorporate iPSC-derived neurons, astrocytes, and microglia in these 3D models to recapitulate the cell-cell interactions important for synapse maintenance. His work will focus on understanding the interconnectedness between alterations in synapse maintenance and proteostasis pathways found across ASD model systems. These unique 3D tissues will provide insight into the biology underlying the disease as well as utility in developing novel approaches to target identified aberrant mechanisms and uncovering potential treatment options. His postdoctoral research will be conducted under the mentorship of Drs. David Kaplan, Phil Haydon, and Thomas Nieland of Tufts University and is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the BRAIN Initiative Fellows (F32) program under Award Number F32MH118678.

 

INSciDE Research on 3D Bioengineered Tissue Models and Neural Implants Published in Scientific Journals

 

Several papers on INSciDE research were recently published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, ACS Omega, Biomaterials, and Advanced Functional Materials.  These papers represent the latest advances in our 3D neural tissue model systems and neural tissue constructs for brain transplantation. To read the papers, click on the links below:

 
To see a full list of INSciDE publications, click here.

 

Latest INSciDE Research Presented at Fall Conferences

 

INSciDE Researcher Volha Liaudanskaya, PhD, presenting at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA

 

Lab members including Dr. William Cantley, Dr. Volha Liaudanskaya, Dr. Jonathan Grasman, and Eleana Manousiouthakis presented their latest work at conferences this fall including the annual meetings for the Society for Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering Society, as well as the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society World Congress. They presented on 3-D human neural network models, neural tissue constructs for brain transplantation, and innervated tissue models of the human intestine. To see a full list of INSciDE conference presentations, click here.

 

INSciDE Team Members Participate in STEM Professional Panels

 

Thomas Nieland, PhD, and Javier Rincon participated in panel discussions for students at Watertown High School (Watertown, MA) to share their experiences in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and to offer future perspectives. This was offered as part of Massachusetts STEM Week, the first statewide event created by Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and their administration to generate interest and to create opportunities for more students to pursue STEM fields. To request INSciDE team members for similar events, please contact us here.

 

INSciDE Featured in SEConnections Event at Tufts University

 

Deputy Director Michael Lovett, PhD, presenting at SEConnections

 

INSciDE Deputy Director Michael Lovett, PhD, presented the ongoing research and outreach activities of the Initiative for Neural Science, Disease & Engineering as part of the monthly SEConnections events held in the Science & Engineering Complex at Tufts. He discussed the current projects and goals of INSciDE with colleagues from other academic departments, focusing on the interdisciplinary research of the center and the potential for collaboration. To see a full list of collaborators, or if you are interested in joining our initiative, please click here.