Characterisation of the developing brain from surgical specimens

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Characterisation of the developing brain from surgical specimens.

  • IRAS ID

    249231

  • Contact name

    Thomas Santarius

  • Contact email

    ts381@cam.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 11 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    The remarkable cellular diversity of the human brain enables underlies our complex behaviour and vulnerability in many neurological illnesses. Almost half of the cells in the human brain are glia, but we know little about their molecular and functional heterogeneity. Glial cells are now recognized as potent regulators of synapse formation and refinement during brain development and increasingly implicated in neurological diseases. The cerebral cortex provides an attractive and disease relevant brain region to study glial-neuron interactions.
    However, existing studies provide a limited understanding of the spatiotemporal molecular profiles of different human glial cell types in the paediatric brain.

    Study aim: We aim to map the human glial and neuronal transcriptomes in the cerebral
    cortex throughout paediatric development using a combination of single cell/nuclei RNA-
    sequencing (RNAseq) and large-scale single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization
    (smFISH).

  • REC name

    Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    19/YH/0274

  • Date of REC Opinion

    12 Feb 2020

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion