Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
I am interested in the molecular mechanisms that regulate embryonic development of the forebrain and how errors in this process can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders.
My research in a nutshell
We study how the brain normally develops during embryogenesis and how neurodevelopmental disorders arise when normal development goes awry. Much of our work has concentrated on the transcription factors Foxg1, Pax6 and Gli3, in collaboration with David Price, Thomas Pratt and Thomas Theil. These transcription factors act as high level regulators and are crucial for normal development of the brain.
We are using cerebral organoids to explore mechanisms of human brain development, and to understand how neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and FOXG1 Syndrome arise. Cerebral organoids are small, 3D cultures grown from human stem cells that closely resemble normal brain tissue. This powerful new system allows us to study development of human brain tissue in ways that have not been possible previously.
Biography
- Professor of Molecular Neural Development, Universty of Edinburgh
- Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, then Reader, Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh
- Group leader at the Centre for Genome Research, Science & Engineering, University of Edinburgh
- Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco.
Teaching
Undergraduate
Year 3:
Mechanisms of Brain Development 3
Anatomy & Development 3
Year 4:
Honours Anatomy & Development (Programme Organiser 2018-2024)
Development and Disease (Course Organiser 2015-2024)
Honours Biomedical Sciences Core
Postgraduate
MSc by Research Integrative Neuroscience
Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD programme in Translational Neuroscience
Qualifications
- PhD, Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge.
- BSc, Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh.
Administrative Roles
Honours Programme Organiser - Anatomy & Development (2018-24)
Convenor, Biomedical Sciences Pre-honours Board of Examiners (2016-2020)
Member, Biomedical Sciences Junior Honours Board of Examiners (2018-2022)
Member, Physiology Honours Board of Examiners (1996-2018)
Websites
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0489-2400
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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GABA/Glutamate Neuron Differentiation Imbalance and Increased AKT/mTOR Signaling in CNTNAP2-/- Cerebral Organoids
Chalkiadaki, K., Statoulla, E., Zafeiri, M., Voudouri, G., Amvrosiadis, T., Typou, A., Theodoridou, N., Moschovas, D., Avgeropoulos, A., Samiotaki, M., Mason, J. O. & Gkogkas, C. G., 1 Jan 2025, In: Biological psychiatry global open science. 5, 1, p. 100413Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Mouse embryonic stem cell-derived cerebral organoids
Ferdaos, N. & Mason, J. O., 5 Jun 2023, Stem Cell Laboratory Techniques: A Guide for Researchers and Students. Subbiah, S. K., Higuchi, A. & Mok, P. L. (eds.). Elsevier, p. 189-200 12 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Pax6 mutant cerebral organoids partially recapitulate phenotypes of Pax6 mutant mouse strains
Ferdaos, N., Lowell, S. & Mason, J., 28 Nov 2022, In: PLoS ONE. 17, 11, e0278147.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Developmental Genes and Molecular Approaches: From Embryo to Human Diseases
Spohr, T. C. L. S., Mentlein, R. & Mason, J., 23 Nov 2022, In: Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 15, 1089411.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial
Open AccessFile -
Pax6 limits the competence of developing cerebral cortical cells to respond to inductive intercellular signals
Manuel, M., Tan, K. B., Kozic, Z., Molinek, M., Marcos, T., Abd Razak, F., Dobolyi, D., Dobie, R., Henderson, B., Henderson, N. C., Chan, W. K., Daw, M., Mason, J. & Price, D., 6 Sept 2022, In: PLoS Biology. 20, 9, e3001563.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile
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Identifying mechanisms underlying forebrain pathology in human PAX6 haploinsufficiency
Mason, J. (Principal Investigator) & Price, D. (Co-investigator)
1/01/24 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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The role of Pax6 in early neurodevelopment
Mason, J. (Principal Investigator)
2/06/22 → 27/07/22
Project: Research
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An investigation of the developmental roots of FOXG1 Syndrome using human cerebral organoids
Mason, J. (Principal Investigator)
1/06/21 → 26/07/21
Project: Research
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Building brains - organoids as tools to study forebrain development
Mason, J. (Principal Investigator)
3/06/19 → 28/07/19
Project: Research
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Building brains in a dish - using ES cells to understand brain development
Mason, J. (Principal Investigator)
UK central government bodies/local authorities, health and hospital authorities
1/09/16 → 30/11/19
Project: Research
Datasets
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Data on the composition of four balanced and four unbalanced series of E12.5 fetal mouse chimaeras
Flockhart, J. H. (Creator), Tang, P.-C. (Creator), MacKay, G. E. (Creator), Keighren, M. A. (Creator), Kissenpfennig, A. (Creator), Wilson, L. (Creator), Pratt, T. (Creator), Mason, J. (Creator), Price, D. (Creator) & West, J. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 6 Jun 2017
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2056
Dataset
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Data for Comparison of two lines of tauGFP transgenic mice designed for lineage tracing
Sharp, L. (Creator), Pratt, T. (Creator), MacKay, G. E. (Creator), Keighren, M. (Creator), Flockhart, J. H. (Creator), Chandler, E. (Creator), Price, D. (Creator), Mason, J. (Creator) & West, J. (Creator), Edinburgh DataShare, 30 May 2017
DOI: 10.7488/ds/2049
Dataset