PD Dr. Thorsten Müller
Our research team is interested in the analysis of 3-dimensional human tissues, differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells, which are also called cerebral organoids or „mini brains“. These in cell culture differentiated organoids contain structures that mimic the real human brain like the layering of the human cortex. Thus, cerebral organoids are thought to be a highly promising technology to investigate physiological and pathophysiological conditions of the human brain. We currently set up organoid models for a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. Using a variety of analytical methods including confocal fluorescence microscopy, biochemical and molecular-biology assays, we are studying organoids in comparison to controls in order to identify pathway aberrations that are causative associate to the disorder. Next to cerebral organoids we differentiate lung organoids in order to provide a model mimicking the human lung for infection research.