Special Lecture by Matthew Kraushar

The Kraushar Lab aims for a logic of brain development and evolution that is encoded by gene expression. Neurons born at different times will migrate to different places, and ultimately form distinct circuits in the embryo. Variations on this theme give rise to the immense diversity of nervous systems within and between species; but how patterns of gene expression predict brain structure is a major open question. Gene expression is typically measured in static snapshots, while brain structures are formed by rapid change and dynamic molecules. We record these molecular dynamics in real time in two species with similar gestational periods and neuronal lineage genes, but strikingly different developmental chronologies and brain structures. We have developed new technologies that track the final gatekeeper of gene expression – the ribosome – during neurodevelopment at single-cell resolution.