Email

deneen@bcm.edu

Positions

Professor and Dr. Russell J. and Marian K. Blattner Chair

Center for Cancer Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Professor and Dr. Russell J. and Marian K. Blattner Chair

Department of Neurosurgery
Baylor College of Medicine

Member

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Education

PhD from University Of California, Los Angeles

01/2003 - Los Angeles, CA United States

Post-Doctoral Fellowship at California Institute of Technology

01/2009 - Pasadena, California United States

Professional Interests

• Glial Development
• Astrocyte Regulation of Circuit Function
• Functional Genomics of Brain Tumors
• Cancer Neuroscience

Professional Statement

My laboratory studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control the diverse physiological roles of glial cells in the central nervous system. Our studies concentrate on two emerging areas in the neurosciences: astrocyte control of brain circuits and cancer neuroscience of brain tumors. Our investigations into brain circuits focus on the lines of communication between astrocytes and neurons that drive circuit function. These studies identified functionally distinct astrocyte subtypes and region-specific transcription factor codes that oversee circuit function in the hippocampus, cortex, olfactory bulb, amygdala, and spinal cord. We extended these studies towards experience-dependent astrocyte plasticity, identifying new cellular, transcriptional, and epigenetic mechanisms governing astrocyte adaptation to a host of experiences, including learning, sensory, depression, and sleep. In the brain tumor space, my lab developed several autochthonous mouse models of glioma that we combined with high-throughput, in vivo functional genomics screens to uncover how brain tumors remodel the neuronal microenvironment towards hyperactivity. Our work in the cancer neuroscience of brain tumors has uncovered circuit-specific effects on brain tumor pathogenesis, while identifying bi-directional signaling mechanisms between tumors and neurons that drive malignant progression and hyperactive brain states.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Yu K, Lin CJ, Hatcher A, Lozzi B, Kong K, Huang-Hobbs E, Cheng YT, Beechar VB, Zhu W, Zhang Y, Chen F, Mills GB, Mohila CA, Creighton CJ, Noebels JL, Scott KL, Deneen B. "PIK3CA variants selectively initiate brain hyperactivity during gliomagenesis." Nature. 2020 Feb 6;578:166-171. Pubmed PMID: 31996845
• Cheng Y-T, Luna-Figueroa E, Woo J, Chen H-C, Lee Z-F, Serin Harmanci A, and Deneen B "Inhibitory input directs astrocyte morphogenesis through glial GABABR." Nature. 2023 May 11;617(7960):369-376. Pubmed PMID: 37100909
• Sardar D, Cheng YT, Woo J, Choi DJ, Lee ZF, Kwon W, Chen HC, Lozzi B, Cervantes A, Rajendran K, Huang TW, Jain A, Arenkiel BR, Maze I, Deneen B "Induction of astrocytic Slc22a3 regulates sensory processing through histone serotonylation.." Science. 2023 Jun 16;380(6650):eade0027. Pubmed PMID: 37319217
• Huang-Hobbs E, Cheng Y-T, Ko Y, Luna-Figueroa E, Lozzi B, Taylor KR, McDonald M, He P, Chen H-C, YangY, Maleki E, Lee Z-F, Murali S, Williamson M, Choi D, Curry R, Bayley J, Woo J, Jalali A, Monje M, Noebels JL, Serin Harmanci A, Rao G, and Deneen B "Remote neuronal activity drives glioma infiltration via SEMA4F." Nature. 2023 Jul 27;619:844-850. Pubmed PMID: 37380778