Moritz Mall, PhD

Division Head,

Hector Institute for Translational Brain Research

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

Talk Title: Regulation of cellular plasticity in development and disease

Abstract: While the activators that switch on cell fate programs are well studied, the active repression of alternative fates that maintains cell identity remains underappreciated. Combining human stem cell–derived neurons, brain organoids, and in vivo models with patient single-cell multi-omics and cell fate engineering, we show that loss of dedicated transcriptional repressors unlocks aberrant gene programs that drive developmental disorders and fuel cancers. Restoring repressor activity can re-establish identity and reveal new therapeutic opportunities.

Host: Dr. Joe Dougherty

Host Comments: Moritz Mall is a leading researcher in understanding how transcription regulates the specification of cell types across contexts, including the generation of neurons. His team uses iPSC and cell fate engineering to define these mechanisms, and how this can go awry in diseases as varied as the neurodevelopmental disorders and tumors of the brain.