Studying prenatal human brain development remains a challenge due to limited access to live human brain tissue and ethical constraints on research using human embryos. Recent advances in stem cell biology have revolutionized the field of human developmental biology by allowing us to generate three-dimensional models that recapitulate structural organization of various organs, including the brain. 

Our lab focuses on advancing novel stem cell-based technologies to generate three-dimensional models that recapitulate the structural and functional organization of the human brain. We leverage these technologies to push the boundaries for personalized research on human-specific brain disorders and to identify strategies for facilitating brain repair.

Selected Publications:

Schafer, S.T., Paquola, A.C.M., Stern, S., Gosselin, D., Ku, M., Pena, M., Kuret, T.J.M., Liyanage, M., Mansour, A.A., Jaeger, B.N., Marchetto, M.C., Glass, C.K., Mertens, J. & Gage, F.H. (2019) Pathological priming causes developmental gene network heterochronicity in autistic subject-derived neurons. Nature Neuroscience 22, 243 

Herdy, J., Schafer, S.T., Kim, Y., Ansari, Z., Zangwill, D., Ku, M., Paquola, A., Lee, H., Mertens, J. & Gage, F.H. (2019) Chemical modulation of transcriptionally enriched signaling pathways to optimize the conversion of fibroblasts into neurons. eLife 8, e41356 

Gonçalves, J.T.*, Schafer, S.T.* & Gage, F.H. (2016) Adult Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus: From Stem Cells to Behavior. Cell 167, 897–914 [equal contribution]

Han, J., Kim, H.J.*, Schafer, S.T. *, Paquola, A., Clemenson, G.D., Toda, T., Oh, J., Pankonin, A.R., Lee, B.S., Johnston, S.T., Sarkar, A., Denli, A.M. & Gage, F.H. (2016) Functional Implications of miR-19 in the Migration of Newborn Neurons in the Adult Brain. Neuron 91, 79–89 [equal contribution]

Schafer, S.T., Han, J., Pena, M., von Bohlen und Halbach, O., Peters, J. & Gage, F. H. (2015) The Wnt Adaptor Protein ATP6AP2 Regulates Multiple Stages of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis. J Neurosci 35, 4983–4998 

Han, J., Kim, H.J.*, Schafer, S.T. *, Paquola, A., Clemenson, G.D., Toda, T., Oh, J., Pankonin, A.R., Lee, B.S., Johnston, S.T., Sarkar, A., Denli, A.M. & Gage, F.H. (2016) Functional Implications of miR-19 in the Migration of Newborn Neurons in the Adult Brain. Neuron 91, 79–89 [equal contribution]

Mertens, J., Wang, Q.W., Kim, Y., Yu, D.X., Pham, S., Yang, B., Zheng, Y., Diffenderfer, K. E., Zhang, J., Soltani, S., Eames, T., Schafer, S.T., Boyer, L., Marchetto, M.C., Nurnberger, J.I., Calabrese, J.R., Oedegaard, K.J., McCarthy, M.J., Zandi, P.P., Alda, M., Nievergelt, C.M., Mi, S., Brennand, K.J., Kelsoe, J.R., Gage, F.H. & Yao, J. (2015) Differential responses to lithium in hyperexcitable neurons from patients with bipolar disorder. Nature 527, 95–99
 

Contact:

Simon T. Schäfer, PhD
Assistant Professor for Advanced Organoid Technologies for Mental Health Research

Technical University of Munich (TUM)
School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

TranslaTUM, Center for Organoid Systems
Organoid Hub, Room 22.2.18
Einsteinstr. 25
81675 Munich, Germany

https://www.professoren.tum.de/schaefer-simon