Available to mentor
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Ph.D.Yale University, New Haven
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B.Sc.University of Waterloo, Waterloo
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Center MemberCenter for Cell Plasticity and Organ Design
Research in the Kwan laboratory is aimed at the genetic mechanisms that underlie neural development and circuit assembly in the cerebral cortex, and their dysregulation in human neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, and schizophrenia. We specialize in unraveling the mechanistic underpinnings of fundamental and pathogenic developmental processes in vivo. Our three overarching goals are to understand: 1) the mechanisms by which neural progenitor cells (NPCs) give rise to diverse cortical cell types; 2) the mechanisms by which cortical neurons are wired into functional neural circuits; and 3) how dysregulation of these mechanisms contribute to disorders of brain development. We use an integrative approach at the interface of molecular biology, functional genomics, genome-editing, mouse genetics, and circuit neurobiology. With the accelerating pace of genetic discoveries, we are ideally positioned to functionally characterize genes associated with brain disorders, and uncover the mechanisms by which gene mutations contribute to disease in vivo.
Kwan Laboratory twitter Google Scholar
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Sun C, Kathuria K, Emery SB, Kim B, Burbulis IE, Shin JH, Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network , Weinberger DR, Moran JV, Kidd JM, Mills RE, McConnell MJ. Nat Commun, 2024 May 17; 15 (1): 4220Journal ArticleMapping recurrent mosaic copy number variation in human neurons.
DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-48392-0 PMID: 38760338 -
Molnár Z, Kwan KY. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol, 2024 Jan 2; 16 (1):Journal ArticleDevelopment and Evolution of Thalamocortical Connectivity.
DOI:10.1101/cshperspect.a041503 PMID: 38167425 -
Garrison MA, Jang Y, Bae T, Cherskov A, Emery SB, Fasching L, Jones A, Moldovan JB, Molitor C, Pochareddy S, Peters MA, Shin JH, Wang Y, Yang X, Akbarian S, Chess A, Gage FH, Gleeson JG, Kidd JM, McConnell M, Mills RE, Moran JV, Park PJ, Sestan N, Urban AE, Vaccarino FM, Walsh CA, Weinberger DR, Wheelan SJ, Abyzov A, BSMN Consortium . Sci Data, 2023 Nov 20; 10 (1): 813Journal ArticleGenomic data resources of the Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network for neuropsychiatric diseases.
DOI:10.1038/s41597-023-02645-7 PMID: 37985666 -
Zhu X, Zhou B, Pattni R, Gleason K, Tan C, Kalinowski A, Sloan S, Fiston-Lavier A-S, Mariani J, Petrov D, Barres BA, Duncan L, Abyzov A, Vogel H, Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network , Moran JV, Vaccarino FM, Tamminga CA, Levinson DF, Urban AE. Nat Neurosci, 2023 Oct; 26 (10): 1833Journal ArticleAuthor Correction: Machine learning reveals bilateral distribution of somatic L1 insertions in human neurons and glia.
DOI:10.1038/s41593-023-01438-w PMID: 37648813 -
Rodin RE, Dou Y, Kwon M, Sherman MA, D'Gama AM, Doan RN, Rento LM, Girskis KM, Bohrson CL, Kim SN, Nadig A, Luquette LJ, Gulhan DC, Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network , Park PJ, Walsh CA. Nat Neurosci, 2023 Oct; 26 (10): 1833Journal ArticleAuthor Correction: The landscape of somatic mutation in cerebral cortex of autistic and neurotypical individuals revealed by ultra-deep whole-genome sequencing.
DOI:10.1038/s41593-023-01437-x PMID: 37644260 -
Njoku IP, Kwan KY. Neuron, 2023 Apr 19; 111 (8): 1168 - 1170.Journal ArticleDistinct microtubule networks mediate neuronal migration and polarization.
DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.026 PMID: 37080166 -
Liu H, Caballero-Florán RN, Hergenreder T, Yang T, Hull JM, Pan G, Li R, Veling MW, Isom LL, Kwan KY, Huang ZJ, Fuerst PG, Jenkins PM, Ye B. PLoS Biol, 2023 Apr; 21 (4): e3002078Journal ArticleDSCAM gene triplication causes excessive GABAergic synapses in the neocortex in Down syndrome mouse models.
DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.3002078 PMID: 37079499 -
Yang X, Xu X, Breuss MW, Antaki D, Ball LL, Chung C, Shen J, Li C, George RD, Wang Y, Bae T, Cheng Y, Abyzov A, Wei L, Alexandrov LB, Sebat JL, NIMH Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network , Gleeson JG. Nat Biotechnol, 2023 Jun; 41 (6): 870 - 877.Journal ArticleControl-independent mosaic single nucleotide variant detection with DeepMosaic.
DOI:10.1038/s41587-022-01559-w PMID: 36593400