Sergiu Pasca – How the human brain builds itself

This lecture is part of the HT Neurogenomics Conference and is open to everyone, from scientists to the general public who is curious about the topic. It will take place on 20 May 2025, from 18:45 to 19:45, at the Aula Magna of the Università degli Studi di Milano.

The lecture offers a unique opportunity for citizens to explore with topics related to brain development, and the raise of modern neuroscience.

Trained as a physician in Romania, Sergiu Pasca came for postdoctoral training at Stanford in 2009 where he developed some of the initial in vitro models of disease by deriving neurons from skin cells taken from patients with genetic brain disorders. His lab has afterwards introduced the use of instructive signals for reproducibly deriving self-organizing 3D cellular structures known as regionalized neural organoids or spheroids. To gain access to complex cellular interactions in the human brain, his research group also pioneered a modular system to study human neural circuits in preparations named assembloids.

Among the many mysteries that have captivated scientists through history, the human brain holds a unique place. The ideas, speculations, and discoveries that have shaped our understanding of this remarkably complex organ are part of a long journey – one that is far from over. Despite the vast advances in biology over the years, we still have only a limited understanding of how our brain truly works.

The lecture is free and it will be delivered in English, with no simultaneous translation available on-site.

For information, reach out to [email protected].

Programme

• 18:00 – 18:45, Accreditation & Welcome by Research Vice-Rector Prof. Monica Di Luca (Università degli Studi di Milano)
• 18:45 – 19:45, Open Lecture: How the human brain builds itself by Sergiu Pasca (Stanford University), introduced by Giuseppe Testa (HT, University of Milan)

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