Lab-grown 6-month-old human Purkinje cell (Image by Alexander Atamian and Marcella Birtele/Quadrato Lab)In a first for USC Stem Cell scientists, the laboratory of Giorgia Quadrato, an assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, has pioneered a novel human brain organoid model that generates all the major cell types of the cerebellum, a hindbrain Read More…

The gene SYNGAP1, the variants of which are top risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has previously unappreciated effects on the developing brain, according to a new study published in Nature Neuroscience. The study shows how disease-causing variants of SYNGAP1, thought primarily to affect synapses between mature neurons, could disrupt early development in a Read More…

In one sense, Marcella Birtele is following in her father’s footsteps: he works as an electrician in Italy, and she studies the electrophysiology of the brain as a postdoctoral fellow in Giorgia Quadrato’s lab at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. “When I have doubts about Read More…

Giorgia Quadrato, an assistant professor in USC’s Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, was recently awarded an Edward Mallinckrodt Foundation (EMF) grant to further her research about modeling human brain development and disease. To read more, visit https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/usc-stem-cell-scientist-giorgia-quadrato-receives-a-2020-mallinckrodt-grant.

The human brain is an incredibly complex organ to study in its living tissue form. Researchers cannot experiment on human tissue directly, and animal models are often too different to human physiology to be effective. For this reason, in the last decade, neurological research has been increasingly turning to “brain-on-a-chip” organoid models to give researchers Read More…

Maybe a child misses a developmental milestone, such as rolling over, or saying that first word. Perhaps the child also falls down due to seizures, or develops symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder. Eventually, a doctor pinpoints the cause: a rare and spontaneous variant in a gene called SYNGAP1, which leads to a variety of Read More…

Growing stem cells isn’t just something faculty do in the lab. Giorgia Quadrato is one of eight faculty in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine recently who welcomed new babies into their families—more than half of them within the past year. Here, Dr. Quadrato and other junior faculty parents share their joy Read More…

Giorgia Quadrato loves a good challenge. That’s why USC’s newest assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine currently spends her time growing 3D networks of human nerve cells, called brain organoids, in the laboratory. “I think studying the brain is, by definition, probably one of the most challenging fields of study,” she said. Read More…

In Cell Stem Cell, USC Stem Cell’s newest assistant professor Giorgia Quadrato offers advice for postdocs and grad students pursuing an academic career. Read more at https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(19)30004-9.

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