Home Department: undeclared
Supported by: Anonymous Donor
Mentor: Theo Palmer, Neurosurgery

Genetic research has shown that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with both environmental effects, such as an illness in the mother, and/or specific genetic conditions, such as the loss of one cMet allele. Using mice as a model organism, Kristina will use fluorescent tagging to investigate the concentration of specific neurons that have been associated with ASD in subjects who have only one cMet allele and/or whose mothers have been exposed to an infection. By studying the connection of genetics and infection of the mother to ASD, we can better understand the risk factors for, and potential causes of, ASD.

Poster presented at the Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Symposium on August 24, 2016:

Synergistic Effects of Maternal Immune Activation and cMet Deletion on Embryonic Neuronal Subtype Distribution

Kristina Correa^1,2, Alex Lopez^1,2, Aditi Narayan^1,2, Brooke Babineau^1,2, Theo Palmer^1,2
[Department of Neurosurgery¹ and Institute for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine², Stanford University]