Guest Speaker: Dr. David Picketts (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute)
Departmental Seminar: Dr. David Picketts (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute)
Students, Faculty, and Postdocs are invited to attend the Departmental Seminar below:
Speaker: Dr. David Picketts
Institution: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Date: Monday, February 9, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM
Host: Dr. Yun Li
Location: PGCRL Event Room 1
Title:
“The growing impact of nucleosome remodeling on autism and neurodevelopmental disorders.”
Abstract:
The genetic cause of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) associated with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder are heterogeneous in nature with over 1500 genes identified as causative. Surprisingly, the most frequently mutated class of genes that cause NDDs encode proteins that regulate chromatin; even more so than synapse-related genes. Collectively, this positions the epigenome as a major point of convergence critical for early brain development. Nonetheless, we know very little about how these proteins drive early brain development and why mutations lead to cognitive deficits. In this presentation, I will provide an overview of the field, from gene identification, isolation of chromatin remodeling complexes, the generation and characterization of animal models, to more recent unpublished findings that drive toward function. To highlight these advances, I will use examples from our own work with the ISWI and ATRX chromatin remodeling proteins as a common thread.