Across biology, structure and function are strongly related. The structure of brain cells is especially breathtaking. Here, astrocytes display the hallmark “star-like” morphology for which they are named, with red and green labeling the expression of two genes important for their function.

To gain insight into genetic risk for neurological diseases, the Jaenisch Lab uses patient-derived cultures of  microglia, neurons, and astrocytes (which provide critical support for neurons) to perform large scale, high-throughput screens to test the function of different risk variants.