Department of Neurology

Mirjana Savatic’s laboratory has two primary interests - to investigate the mechanisms that lead to the differentiation of neural progenitor cells into neuronal lineages, and to identify neural progenitor cell biomarkers that will enable tracing of these cells in vivo in both animal models and the human brain. A variety of two-photon imaging, molecular biology and electrophysiology techniques, as well as spectroscopy, mMRI and human MRI imaging techniques are employed respectively to achieve the two goals. To address the first goal, Savatic’s research group studies how electrical and pharmacological stimulation of neural progenitor cells affect their differentiation both in vitro (organotypic slices) and in vivo, after transplantation into the mouse cortex. To address the second goal, both metabolomic markers and monoclonal antibodies have been developed for cellular and molecular MRI imaging that can be applicable to humans. The long-term goal of the lab is to apply the gained knowledge in animal models of human disease in hope to utilize neural progenitor cells as therapeutic agents in humans.

Lab Page:

www.stonybrook.edu/savatic

(631) 444-8120 savatic@cshl.edu