Position Title
Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior; Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Core Faculty, Center for Neuroscience
Genomic control of transcription in the brain
Research Interest
My research explores gene regulatory circuits and chromatin dynamics in the brain, studying how these features contribute to brain development, evolution, and function. I apply a combination of genomics, mouse and cell-based models, and human genetics. My work is rooted in basic and translational science, with an ultimate goal of understanding the biological components of human diseases and disorders of the brain and improving clinical care of afflicted individuals. To that end, I perform both experimental work and computational analysis to reveal function of primary DNA sequence, epigenomic modifications, and chromatin structure.
I am always looking for motivated undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs who are interested in contributing to projects addressing:
- Chromatin and gene regulation in brain development, evolution, and function
- Genetic models of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders
- Development and implementation of genomic applications in the clinic
Selected Publications
- Molecular design of a therapeutic LSD analogue with reduced hallucinogenic potential JR Tuck, LE Dunlap, YA Khatib, CJ Hatzipantelis, S Weiser Novak, ...Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122 (16), e2416106122, 2025
- Assigning Targetable Molecular Pathways to Transdiagnostic Subgroups Across Autism and Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders J Ellegood, A Beauchamp, YC Yee, GA Devenyi, J Ziolkowski, LR Qiu, ...bioRxiv, 2025.03. 04.641443, 2025
- Gestational autoantibody exposure impacts early brain development in a rat model of MAR autism J McLellan, AM Iosif, K Cichewicz, C Canales, D Rahbarian, M Corea, ...Molecular Psychiatry, 1-11, 2025
- Combinatorial transcription factor binding encodes cis-regulatory wiring of mouse forebrain GABAergic neurogenesis R Catta-Preta, S Lindtner, A Ypsilanti, N Seban, JD Price, A Abnousi, ...Developmental Cell 60 (2), 288-304. e6, 2025 Citations: 3
- Persistent cortical excitatory neuron dysregulation in adult Chd8 haploinsufficient mice. CP Canales, S Lozano, NA Frost, K Cichewicz, W Amaral, N Seban, ...bioRxiv, 2025.06. 04.657776, 2025
Affiliations
Center for Neuroscience
Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior (College of Biological Sciences)
Psychiatry (School of Medicine)
UC Davis Genome Center
UC Davis MIND Institute