/neurogenesis

Repository for the EN.553.650 Computational Molecular Medicine group project on understanding the dynamics of neuronal migration during cortical development

Primary LanguagePython

Understanding the genetic basis of neuronal migration during cortical development

We are interested in studying the genetic basis of embryonic neurogenesis. In particular, we wish to determine whether the dynamics of neuronal migration from the germinal zone to the cortical plate during mid-gestation are regulated by a non-linear function of gene expression. Identifying the collection of genes characterizing the neuronal activities in the germinal zone and the cortical plate would be important in understanding the mechanisms underlying early brain development.

For the purposes of this project, we use a single-cell RNA-seq dataset [1] on human embryonic neurogenesis which contains expression data from $d = 35543$ genes across $n=15060$ cells. We employ standard feature selection and classification tools to discover differentially expressed genes and train classifiers that capture the non-linear relationship between the selected gene expression levels and cell location.

[project proposal] [project report]

Group members: Ashwin De Silva, Sai Koukuntla, Ime Essien

Course Instructor: Prof. Donald Geman

References

[1] Polioudakis, Damon, et al. "A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of human neocortical development during mid-gestation." Neuron 103.5 (2019): 785-801.