The McConnell Lab


Susan K. McConnell, Ph.D.
Susan B. Ford Professor of Humanities and Sciences
Dunlevie Family University Fellow
Department of Biology
Stanford University
385 Serra Mall, Herrin Labs 115
Stanford, CA 94305-5020

The development of the central nervous system encompasses a series of critical processes, including the production of neurons from progenitor cells, the determination of discrete neuronal phenotypes, the migration of young neurons into appropriate positions within the brain, and the formation of specific synaptic contacts. These processes ultimately generate the formation of precisely wired neuronal circuits that underlie complex behaviors. The goal of our work is to understand how neurons in the developing cerebral cortex are produced, assigned specific phenotypes, and wired together into functional circuits.