Using organoids to reveal what sets the human brain apart

Mon 11 March 2024

Department of Chemistry

A Lecture by Dr Madeline Lancaster, Group Leader in the Cell Biology Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge.

The fifth talk in a series of lectures organised by the Cambridge Philosophical Society in the Lent Term 2024.

Abstract: The human brain sets us apart as a species, yet how it develops and functions differently to that of other mammals is still largely unclear. This also makes it difficult to understand how disorders of the brain arise, and therefore how to treat them. To understand such a complex organ, we have developed cerebral organoids, or brain organoids, 3D brain tissues made from stem cells that mimic the fetal brain. Such organoids are allowing us to tackle questions previously impossible with more traditional approaches. Indeed, our recent findings provide insight into various factors that influence the developing brain, and how the human brain becomes so uniquely large enabling our special cognitive abilities.

Cost: free