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University of Missouri

NextGen Precision Health Neuroscience Seminar - Nov. 7, 2022

 

For questions about this event, please reach out to Veronica Lemme at lemmev@health.missouri.edu.

“Dimensional Understanding of Mental Disorders Associated with Copy Number Variation”

Presented by: Dr. Noboru Hiroi, Professor, Departments of Pharmacology, Cellular & Integrative Physiology, and Cell Systems & Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Date: Nov. 7, 2022, 4-5 p.m.
Location: Tom and Linda Atkins Family Seminar Room, Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building

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Description

Precision medicine has not been developed for psychiatric disorders, due to a lack of understanding of their precise mechanistic bases. Copy number variants (CNVs) confer unprecedentedly high levels of risk for many psychiatric disorders, and they have provided a reliable and reproducible window to delve into the mechanisms of autism, schizophrenia and intellectual disability. Dr. Hiroi has investigated cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying symptomatic elements of schizophrenia and autism linked to 22q11.2 CNV, using mouse and cell models. His data demonstrate specific cell types and developmental time windows through which genes encoded in 22q11.2 CNV affect social behavior and memory. 

About the SpeakerNoboru Hiroi

Dr. Noboru Hiroi’s research focuses on the genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying dimensional aspects of schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. The primary aim of his laboratory is to more fully understand the genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders. Copy number variations (CNVs) are associated with high rates of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and schizophrenia. Because CNVs include many individual genes, it is not possible to determine whether chromosomal segments or single genes are responsible for specific dimensional aspects of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders in humans. To circumvent this obstacle, Dr. Hiroi’s laboratory examines the role of chromosomal segments within CNVs and individual CNV-encoded genes in behavioral and cellular phenotypes in cell and mouse models.