Research Faculty
Sehyoun Yoon, Ph.D
Research Assistant Professor
My research focuses primarily on understanding the synaptic role of risk factors such as SYNGAP1, ANK3, ANK2, and USP9X, which are associated with neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. I analyze the effects of deletions and mutations in these factors on abnormal neuronal function and synaptic pathology. My ultimate goal is to explore the neuropathological significance of synapses using neuronal cell and animal models and to identify effective therapeutic approaches.
Marc Forrest, Ph.D
Research Assistant Professor
Research: The primary goal of my research is to understand the function of genes and variants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. I am particularly interested in applying genomic and proteomic technologies to uncover novel disease pathways in cognitive disorders. In the Conte center, my work focuses on investigating the function of TRIO in the brain, and characterizing mouse and stem cell models with disease-associated TRIO variants.
Euan Parnell, Ph.D
Research Assistant Professor
Research: Synapse formation and maturation is a key process in neurodevelopment, and alterations in these result in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Focusing on molecular evaluation of synaptic proteins as drug targets and the subsequent development of high throughput screens to enable drug discovery efforts. In particular, to discover therapeutics that may alter aberrant synaptic maturation in conditions with limited effective treatments, such as neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, epilepsy and intellectual disability. This has provided insight into the genetic basis of schizophrenia during prenatal development using iPSC derived neurons and yielded patented small molecule inhibitors of synaptic proteins, now undergoing preclinical development.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Soyeon Jenny Cho, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Research: Jenny Cho, Ph.D., studies the involvement of SynGAP1 haploinsufficiency in synaptic hyperexcitability and behavioral abnormalities. Jenny investigates the possible mechanisms to recover SynGAP1 haploinsufficiency-associated pathologies.
Tess Smith, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Research: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Dr. Alicia Guemez-Gamboa’s lab at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Joined the Guemez-Gamboa lab from the University of Cambridge, where she worked to establish an iPSC-derived cerebral organoid model of a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a single gene point mutation. Tess’s work within the Conte Center aims to apply organoid models to the study of genes TRIO and SYNGAP1, which are causally linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, to further our understanding of their expression, function, and physiological importance.
Georgiana Stan, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Research: Interested in researching the molecular mechanisms that Trio regulates in neurons, especially with regards to its subcellular localization and vesicular trafficking. Finding out more about Trio molecular pathways will help us better understand the dysregulation that happens in disease and will provide insight into potential treatment avenues.
Laurene Layus, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Researcher
Research: Interested in focusing on the Trio gene, a major risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. A goal is to understand how mutations in this gene affect neural circuit organization and behavior, and to find new therapies for patients.
Research Staff
Yezi Yang, Ph.D.
Research Technologist 2
Research: During undergrad, worked in Dr. Michael Cahill’s Lab at UW-Madison and assisted study the RhoA signaling pathway in synaptic phenotypes. To pursue a master’s degree, joined Dr. Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy’s Lab at Northwestern and characterized the expression and localization of a purinergic receptor in mouse brains. After graduation, joined Kiskinis lab and helping with developing in vitro models of pediatric epilepsies. In the CONTE project, conducting some of the quality controls of newly derived iPSCs and making cortical neurons from them.