Learn how Dr. Dolmetsch and his collaborators are using stem cells to recreate the brain of children with autism, and how this will change the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric diseases in the future.

Dr. Ricardo Dolmetsch is a faculty member in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University where he directs a laboratory that studies the underlying cellular and molecular basis of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). He is a graduate of Brown University, received his graduate degree from Stanford and did his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. His group has pioneered the use of adult stem cells to study the development of the brain and the mechanisms that lead to neurodevelopmental disease. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award in 2007 and the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award in 2008. He is the author of more than 30 scholarly publications and is the parent of a child with ASD. Dr. Dolmetsch and his research team are currently studying the underlying neurobiology of autism and other neuro-developmental disorders. They are particularly interested in understanding how electrical activity and calcium signals control the development of the brain and how this is altered in children with ASDs. They are also developing new tools to study and repair the developing brain.

For more information, email kvoneill@stanford.edu   http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu/news/Scientifique.html