Dr. Ming’s group investigates the roles and mechanisms of epitranscriptomic regulation through RNA modification in the development and function of the mammalian nervous system and the pathological consequences of disrupting these processes, using both mouse and human brain organoid models. The most common chemical modification of RNA that affects gene expression and many cellular processes is N6-methyladenosine (m6A). This project aims to investigate the role of m6A signaling in regulating activity-dependent local translation of transcripts at synapses in the mouse hippocampus and human hippocampal organoids, based on preliminary research showing that m6A signaling is associated with feeding-generated neurons. The study will also explore risk genes associated with microcephaly that encode writer proteins for epitranscriptomic modifications beyond m6A.