News on Inhibitory Neuron Development Lab

Special issue co-edited with Seth Blackshaw

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer co-edited a special issue of Current Opinion in Genetics & Development with Seth Blackshaw, bringing together reviews on developmental mechanisms, patterning and evolution.

Working with Seth was a pleasure, and we thank all the contributing authors for sharing their expertise and thoughtful perspectives through their reviews.

The collection is accompanied by our editorial overview, Specifying cell identity, shaping tissue diversity.

Read the full text via Elsevier (author link; free access may be time-limited) · DOI

Inhibitory neuron symposium in Freiburg

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer spoke at the symposium Inhibitory Neurons: From synapses and microcircuits to behavior in Freiburg.

Welcome to Seline Partsch

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Seline Partsch joined the lab for her master’s thesis.

EMBO Workshop on neurodevelopmental disorders in Otsu

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer presented the lab’s work on how risk genes affect developmental gene regulation at the EMBO Workshop on neurodevelopmental disorders in Otsu, Japan.

Decoding Brain Development and Function Through GABAergic Inhibitory Neurons

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A review with Renata Batista-Brito, Mercedes Paredes and Carla G. Silva brought together research on inhibitory neuron development and circuit function in European Journal of Neuroscience.

Read the review

Young Scientist Award for Ann Rose Bright

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ann Rose Bright received the Young Scientist Award of the MPI for Biological Intelligence, together with Inbal Shainer of the Baier lab, for her work on how the timing of neurogenesis shapes GABAergic neuron development.

Lab retreat in the Bavarian Alps

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Lab retreat in the Bavarian Alps.

GABAergic neuron fate specification and lineage allocation: from development to disorder

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our review in Current Opinion in Genetics & Development discussed how developmental lineage and gene regulation shape GABAergic neuron identity, and how these processes relate to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Read the review

Read the full text via Elsevier (author link; free access may be time-limited) · DOI

Research visit to INMED in Marseille

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer visited INMED in Marseille at the invitation of Stéphane Bugeon.

Stoichiometric transcription factor partnerships control GABAergic neuron fate allocation

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our preprint examines how the relative levels of SP9 and DLX influence gene regulation and the production of distinct GABAergic neuron types.

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The lab at GOLGI III in Bordeaux

Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The lab attended the GOLGI III conference in Bordeaux.

An endodermal subpopulation gives rise to neuromesodermal progenitors in the posterior chick embryo

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A collaborative preprint used lineage tracing to investigate the developmental potential of an endodermal cell population in the chick embryo.

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SFARI Investigator Meeting in New York

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer attended the SFARI Investigator Meeting in New York.

De novo H3.3K27M-altered diffuse midline glioma in human brainstem organoids to dissect GD2 CAR T cell function

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A collaborative study in Nature Cancer developed a human brainstem organoid model of diffuse midline glioma. Our group contributed plasmids and scientific input.

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Research seminar at the ICM in Paris

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer presented the lab’s work at the ICM in Paris, hosted by Stéphanie Baulac and Bassem Hassan.

Ann Rose Bright invited to the SYNAPSES Symposium at Yale

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ann Rose Bright was invited to present her research at the SYNAPSES Symposium at Yale University.

A conserved logic for the development of cortical layering in tetrapods

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A collaborative preprint explored the developmental organisation of cortical layering across tetrapods, including lineage tracing in salamander.

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Yana Kotlyarenko completes her PhD

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Yana Kotlyarenko successfully defended her doctoral thesis, Competence of Inhibitory Neuron Progenitors in the Telencephalon, at LMU Munich.

Dual lineage origins contribute to neocortical astrocyte diversity

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A collaborative study in Nature Communications used TrackerSeq to investigate the lineage origins of cortical astrocyte diversity.

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Temporal control of progenitor competence shapes maturation in GABAergic neuron development in mice

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Our study in Nature Neuroscience showed how developmental timing influences neuronal maturation while progenitors retain the capacity to generate diverse neuronal identities.

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Support for research on ASH1L and SETBP1

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Christian Mayer became a SFARI Investigator. The award, together with a grant from the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, began on 1 February 2025 and supports the lab’s work on the chromatin regulators ASH1L and SETBP1 in autism.

Applying single-cell and single-nucleus genomics to studies of cellular heterogeneity and cell fate transitions in the nervous system

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We contributed to a community review in Nature Neuroscience on the design and interpretation of single-cell and single-nucleus studies of the nervous system.

Read the review

Multiple parallel cell lineages in the developing mammalian cerebral cortex

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A collaborative study in Science Advances examined parallel cell lineages in the developing cerebral cortex. We contributed lineage-tracing expertise.

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Spatial enhancer activation influences inhibitory neuron identity during mouse embryonic development

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Our study in Nature Neuroscience examined how MEIS2, DLX5 and LHX6 regulate enhancers in developing inhibitory neurons. The work introduced tCROP-seq.

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Deciphering inhibitory neuron development: The paths to diversity

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Our review in Current Opinion in Neurobiology discussed the developmental processes that generate inhibitory neuron diversity.

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Transcriptomics reveals amygdala neuron regulation by fasting and ghrelin thereby promoting feeding

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A collaborative study in Science Advances examined how fasting and ghrelin influence gene expression in amygdala neurons and feeding behaviour.

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Single-cell delineation of lineage and genetic identity in the mouse brain

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Our study in Nature introduced TrackerSeq to connect cell ancestry with molecular identity and investigate how individual progenitors produce diverse neuron types.

Read the paper