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CHOP-PENN BRAIN
GENE DEVELOPMENT LAB

Using brain imaging, genomics, and clinical phenomics to understand developmental psychopathology.

Led by Aaron Alexander-Bloch, the Brain-Gene Development Lab integrates multimodal neuroimaging and genomics data with deep phenotyping of individuals within the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania systems.

OUR AREAS OF FOCUS INCLUDE:

Neurodevelopment / Imaging-genomics / Brain Structure and Anatomy / fMRI Networks

lab news

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LiBI Symposium Highlights

November 4, 2024

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Flux Conference Presentation

September 29, 2024

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Welcome Shivaram!

July 22, 2024

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Welcome Laura!

July 8, 2024

recent publications

The molecular genetic landscape of human brain size

Seidlitz et al.

Cell Reports, 2023

Human brain size increases dynamically through early development, peaks in adolescence, and varies up to two-fold among adults. But the molecular underpinnings of interindividual variation in brain size remain unknown. Here, we leverage postmortem brain RNA sequencing and estimates of brain size in 2,531 individuals and identified 928 genes that showed genome-wide significant associations. These genes showed distinct neurodevelopmental trajectories and spatial patterns that mapped onto developmental, functional and cellular axes of brain organization. We found that transcriptomic regulation of these genes influences cortical surface area and volume, as well as behavioral traits related to brain function and disease.

The molecular genetic landscape of human brain size

Cell Reports, 2023

Genetic overlap between psychopathology and brain structure

Biorxiv, 2023

Sex Differences in Association Network Topography

PNAS, 2022

Brain growth charts of “clinical controls”

Radiology, 2022

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