miRNAs are now established as important actors in CNS development, in higher order neuronal
functions, and in proliferative and degenerative brain disease. Studying control of miRNA
biogenesis in neural stem cells, we defined an autoregulatory loop involving the paradigm
miRNA let-7 and the pluripotency factor Lin-28. We will continue to investigate the mechanisms
governing temporal control and lineage specificity of miRNAs in the CNS. In parallel, we will
develop genetic tools to facilitate functional studies of miRNA/target gene interactions, a fertile
ground for the discovery of novel gene functions in early CNS development.
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