Fiona Doetsch, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pathology, Neurology & Neuroscience

Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons
fkd2101@columbia.edu

Stem cells persist in specialized niches in the adult mammalian brain where they continuously generate large numbers of neurons that become functionally integrated into neural circuits. Dr. Doetsch has shown that the stem cells for in vivo adult neurogenesis are a subset of astrocytes, glial cells classically associated with support functions in the brain. Her laboratory is using a variety of molecular, cellular and genetic approaches to discover the regulation, lineage relationships, diversity and function of stem cells and neuronal production in the adult mammalian brain. Uncovering the biology of neural stem cells and their in vivo niche is key to understanding brain repair and neural pathologies.

Select Publications

M. Tavazoie, L. Van der Veken, V. Silva-Vargas, M. Louissaint, L. Colonna, B. Zaidi, J.M. Garcia-Verdugo and F. Doetsch (2008). A specialized vascular niche for adult neural stem cells. Cell Stem Cell, 3, 279-288

Cheng LC, Tavazoie M, Doetsch F. Stem cells: from epigenetics to microRNAs.  Neuron. 2005 May 5;46(3):363-7. Review.

F. Doetsch, I. Caille, D. Lim, J.M. Garcia-Verdugo and A. Alvarez-Buylla (1999). Subventricular zone astrocytes are neural stem cells in the adult mammalian brain. Cell 97, 703-716