Daniel Goldowitz

PhD, BA

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Senior Scientist, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics
Past Canada Research Chair, Tier 1

One of the most daunting problems of modern biology is to determine how a genome consisting of only ~30,000 genes drives the development of one of the most complex of organ systems – the mammalian brain. Most of the time – amazingly – the brain develops perfectly. When cells do not follow the proper developmental pathways, it leads to disorders of the developing central nervous system (CNS). These developmental brain disorders can have a clear genetic basis (e.g. certain Intellectual Disabilities and Huntington’s Disease) or a far more complex etiology that involves multiple genes and environmental factors (e.g. autism, attention deficit disorder [ADHD] and schizophrenia).

The lab studies both single gene and more complex developmental disorders of the CNS. The research integrates the power of genomics, informatics and the mouse as an experimental model system to drive discovery about normal and abnormal brain development and to identify new therapies and interventions to improve outcomes for affected children.