Bio

I obtained my PhD from Dr. Xiaodong Wang's lab, National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing/Tsinghua University. My major work during PhD is on the biochemical mechanism of myelin breakdown. I have expertise in in-tissue immunoprecipitation and pain behavior. Now I am working on axon guidance, degeneration, and plasticity in Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne's lab in Department of Biology.

Academic Appointments

  • Basic Life Research Scientist, Biology

Additional Info

Links

All Publications

  • Midline assembloids reveal regulators of human axon guidance. Science (New York, N.Y.) Onesto, M. M., Amin, N. D., Pan, C., Chen, X., Kim, J. I., Reis, N., Kanton, S., Valencia, A. M., Hudacova, Z., McQueen, J. P., Tessier-Lavigne, M., PaČ™ca, S. P. 2025; 389 (6757): 282-289

    Abstract

    Organizers orchestrate cell patterning and axon guidance in the developing nervous system. Although nonhuman models have led to fundamental discoveries about floor plate (FP)-mediated midline organization, an experimental model of the human FP would enable insights into human neurodevelopment and midline connectivity. Here, we developed organoids resembling human FP (hFpOs) and assembled them with human spinal cord organoids (hSpOs) to generate midline assembloids (hMAs). We demonstrate that hFpOs promote ventral patterning, commissural axon guidance, and bilateral connectivity. To investigate midline regulators, we profiled the hFpO secretome, identifying 27 human-enriched genes compared with mouse. In an arrayed CRISPR screen of hMAs, we discovered that loss of GALNT2 and PLD3 impaired FP-mediated guidance of axons. This platform holds promise for revealing aspects of human-specific neurobiology and disease.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.adq7934

    View details for PubMedID 40674484

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8455-4905