The lab of Joshua Breunig, PhD, investigates the molecular controls of neural stem cell behavior in the brain, specifically exploring the signaling pathways governing the differentiation of stem cells into neurons and glia. This information is then translated into strategies for replacing specific populations of neurons lost after injury and disease. Conversely, the lab members also seek to discover the mechanisms regulating the pathological differentiation of neural stem cells into brain tumor progenitors. Using a next generation glioma models created by Breunig and his colleagues, they introduced patient-specific mutations to create analogous tumors in animal models. From these cancer cells, they are uncovering the developmental origins of tumorigenesis and have begun researching new, more targeted treatments to halt the progression of these malignancies.

• Undergraduate: Paris-Sorbonne University, 1999
• Undergraduate: The College of New Jersey, 2001
• Doctorate: Yale University School of Medicine, 2007
• Post Doctorate: Yale University School of Medicine, 2010

• Cancer Institute (Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute)
• Biomedical Sciences
• Cancer
• Regenerative Medicine Institute (Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute)

• Society for Neuro-Oncology, 2015
• International Society for Stem Cell Research, 2014
• Cajal Club, 2010
• Society for Neuroscience, 2001

Click here for a list of peer-reviewed publications.

• Akhtar AA, Molina J, Dutra-Clarke M, Kim GB, Levy R, Schreiber-Steinthorp W, Danielpour M, Breunig JJ. A transposon-mediated system for flexible control of transgene expression in stem and progenitor-derived lineages. Stem Cell Reports. 2015;4(3):323-331.
• Ables JL, Breunig JJ, Eisch AJ, Rakic P. Not(ch) just development: Notch signalling in the adult brain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2011;12(5):269-283.
• Breunig JJ, Haydar TF, Rakic P. Neural stem cells: historical perspective and future prospects. Neuron. 2011;70(4):614-625.