Debra Silver, Ph.D.

Dr. Silver’s research focuses on the genetic and cellular mechanisms that govern cerebral cortex development and their contribution to neurological disorders and brain evolution. This project focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanism through which radial glia cells (RCGs) signal and organize surrounding cellular environment during brain development. RCGs are neural stem cells that generate neurons and glia in developing cerebral cortex. The overarching goal of this project is to elucidate how neural cells of the cerebral cortex are generated and organized and ultimately contribute to neurological disorders that arise in brain development, including intellectual disability, microcephaly, and autism.