New Insights and Approaches for Studying Rett Syndrome, an Autism-Associated Disorder
Presidential Lectures are free public colloquia centered on four main themes: Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Neuroscience and Autism Science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are intended to foster discourse and drive discovery among the broader NYC-area research community. We invite those interested in the topic to join us for this weekly lecture series.
In this lecture, Gail Mandel will provide a general introduction to Rett syndrome (RTT), a neurodevelopmental disease of girls that results from defects in the gene encoding of the transcription factor methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2). She will provide evidence that the pathology is complex, involving defects in both neurons and astrocytes in conventional RTT mouse models. She will discuss emerging ideas about the normal function of the MeCP2 protein and her recent findings that point to a role for MeCP2 in 3-D chromatin architecture. Finally, she will discuss whether Rett syndrome could be amenable to gene replacement strategies.