Prof. Dr. Stephan Baader

Genes regulate structural and functional properties of individual cells of the central nervous system. While searching for “key” regulatory genes in the past, research is now looking for the complex interplay of different genes and environmental factors which finally shape the complex network of neurons and glia during development. This topic, how distinct genes architecture a reliable and error-free, highly complex neuronal network is the main goal of our research. This knowledge helps to understand, how neuropsychiatric disorder might emerge or how tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system arise. We have a long-lasting experience in searching for genetic interactions of the transcription factor Engrailed-2 in defining cerebellar structures. We are interested in the function of the neurofibromatosis type 2 gene in tumors of the central and peripheral nervous system and we try to link intrinsic mechanisms to metabolic states of an organism, looking at the gut-brain-axis in neuronal development. Translating this knowledge into clinics is a tangible and realistic motivation of our research.