Research in gene regulatory mechanisms crucial to brain development granted Chair award by Danish National Research Foundation
Vijay Tiwari, MSc Phd., newly appointed Professor of neurobiology at the Department of Molecular Medicine has received a DNRF Chair grant to work on revealing gene regulatory mechanisms crucial to the development of cerebral cortex and its disruption in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Cortical expansion and folding are crucial to brain evolution and function, while defects in these processes associate with neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy and intellectual disability.
- Mammalian brain development involves highly complex and organized sets of events. We aim to reveal gene regulatory mechanisms governing spatiotemporal specification of cell-fates underlying these processes and reveal novel developmental and genetic risk factors for associated disorders, Vijay Tiwari explains.
One such key event is when neural stem and progenitor cells progressively switch from proliferative to differentiative divisions to generate different cell types such as neurons and glial cells that populate the cortical layers. Despite progress, the processes remain poorly understood.
-This knowledge gap constitutes a major barrier to developing treatment for neurological disorders and regenerative therapeutics.
The DNRF Chair instrument was initiated by the Danish National Research Foundation in 2020 with the overall aim of strengthening Danish research environments by bringing both international and Danish outstanding researchers to Denmark. Vijay Tiwari is the third researcher at the University of Southern Denmark to receive it and first at the faculty of health.
The DNF Chair grant
With the overall purpose of strengthening and enriching Danish research communities, the aim of the DNRF Chair grant is to motivate and support Danish universities to attract and recruit particular outstanding researchers from abroad, including Danes wishing to return from an international position.