MN-Seminar April 2024

Brain organoid research – preclinical perspectives and challenges

Insa S. Schroeder, Stem Cell Differentiation and Cytogenetics Group, Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt

Brain organoids offer an unmet opportunity for human brain research and enable us to model many human neurological diseases, which have been difficult to decipher due to the inaccessibility of human brain samples and the lack of similarity with other animal models. Brain organoids, which can grow up to several millimeters in diameter and can be kept in culture for years, can be generated through various stem cell based protocols and mimic either the whole brain or specific regions of interest displaying the complex brain architecture as well as its function. However, these complex 3D structures encompass not only great preclinical perspectives but also analytical challenges trying to establish high-resolution structural and functional data using confocal, STED, and lightsheet microscopy as well as omics data to evaluate the cellular composition and disease-based changes. All these aspects and current updates will be discussed. 

Beginn: 16.15 Uhr   |   Ort: C10 | 9.01