After doing my Ms. Sc. studying ischemia and reperfusion in the liver and how adenosine receptors can modulate metabolic pathways during this insult; I decided to move toward stem cell and neuroscience field during my Ph. D. training. I was interested in the transgenic expression of Glial-cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in stem cells and neuronal derivatives. GDNF-secreting embryonic stem cell differentiation to motor neurons goes through a phase of increased number of cycling motor neuron precursors, enhancing terminal differentiated motor neuron yield and electrical maturation, even without any other trophic or cellular support. My ongoing work at JAX tries to unveil the genetic basis of individual differences in the response of the central nervous system to injury using pluripotent stem cells and transgenic mice as models.
