About the Lab
Neurodevelopmental disorders encompass a broad constellation of conditions including intellectual disability, epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric conditions. One emerging theme in the field is that disrupted inhibitory neuronal development and function is found in association with many neurologic and psychiatric disorders. This would be consistent with the growing body of knowledge that inhibitory neurons are highly diverse and key for virtually all aspects of neurobiology from neural circuit development to modulating neuronal activity to information processing.
In the Chao Lab, we integrate cross-species approaches in humans to uncover the genetic etiologies of neurodevelopmental disorders, fruit flies to elucidate the molecular pathways, and mice to explore the cascade of events in the mammalian brain. A wide variety of approaches and techniques are employed in our laboratory including genetically engineered mouse and fruit fly models, structural and functional analyses with electrophysiology, confocal and super-resolution imaging, transcriptomics, molecular and cellular assays, and comprehensive behavioral profiling. Neurodevelopmental disorders that we study include genetic syndromes characterized by epilepsy, autism, ataxia, leukodystrophy, and/or neurodegeneration. These syndromes are due to a variety of genetic and molecular alterations including transcription factor dysfunction (EBF3), protein translation dysfunction (EIF2AK1, EIF2AK2, EIF4A2), synaptic machinery (STXBP1, PPFIA3), and long non-coding RNAs (MEF2C-AS1).
Our goal is to decipher how genetic alterations perturb the balance of excitation and inhibition in the brain, impact cerebro-cerebellar circuits in autism and ataxia, impact neural development across multiple brain structures, and lead to abnormal neurologic output. These findings have the potential to open new avenues for therapeutic interventions.
Celebrating Stellar Young Scientists 2025
Amazing team of Rice University undergraduate scientists working together for autism, ataxia, and rare diseases research, and advancing awareness for EBF3-related disorders. Congratulations to Cali Liu on her acceptance to Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Rija Naqvi on her acceptance to University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine!
(Left to Right) Ellen Kang, Cali Liu, Rija Naqvi, and Hana Jeong. (Not pictured) Ashira Edelheit-Rice, Aarthi Kukaruban, and Suhani Koppolu.
Dr. Maimuna Paul Launches Research Laboratory at Manipal University
Congratulations to former Chao Lab postdoctoral research scientist Dr. Maimuna Sali Paul for launching her own research laboratory as an Assistant Professor to rare genetic disorders at Manipal University!
Celebrating stellar MGC trainees!
Congratulations to our amazing Master's of Genetic Counseling trainees on their many accomplishments! (Left to Right) Cecilia Haag, Arden Wheeler, Claudia Cerezo
Congratulations Dr. Jeffrey Kuerbitz on T32 NeuralCODR award!
Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Kuerbitz, postdoctoral physician-scientist in Child Neurology, on the award of the competitive 2026-2028 T32 Neural Control of Organ Degeneration and Regeneration (NeuralCODR) fellowship for his research on EBF3 and neurodevelopmental pathways. Kudos to a rising star!
Celebrating lab achievements (August 2024)!
Celebrating the wonderful accomplishments of our team of rising stars. Congratulations to Dr. Maimuna Sali Paul on starting soon her own neurogenetics research laboratory as Assistant Professor at Manipal University and Sydney Michener on launching her next career adventure in healthcare!
Congratulations Jordan Wu!
Congratulations to our stellar lab alumna and future physician Jordan Wu on her White Coat Ceremony at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine! Proud of her many accomplishments and excited for her future career in medicine.
2023 Pediatrics Research Symposium
Congratulations to Jordan Wu and postdoc Dr. Kailin Mao on their superb poster presentations at the 2023 Pediatrics Research Symposium for the Department of Pediatrics! Stellar work on developing new mouse models to study genetic causes of autism, ataxia, and leukodystrophies.
2023 Pediatrics Research Symposium
Congratulations to stellar medical students Melina Corriveau, RJ Franzen, and Sabrina Amaya on their superb poster presentations on PAK1 and EBF3-related neurodevelopmental disorders at the 2023 Pediatrics Research Symposium for the Department of Pediatrics.
Lab celebration October 2023
Celebrating a superstar team! Honored to celebrate Dr. Kailin Mao's accomplishments and our stellar BCM Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomics graduate students. Future leaders in STEM at the Duncan NRI. Kudos to Dr. Maimuna Paul and the many team members unable to attend the dinner!
2022 Society for Neuroscience Meeting
Congratulations to Dr. Maimuna Paul for a superb presentation of her exciting new autism-related gene discovery at the 2022 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, Calif. Her work was profiled at the conference by Spectrum News. Kudos Maimuna!
Clinical Study
Natural history and molecular mechanisms of epilepsy, ataxia, autism spectrum and other neurodevelopmental and degenerative disorders, including EBF3-related Hypotonia, Ataxia, and Delayed Development Syndrome (HADDS), EIF2AK2-related LEUDEN syndrome, EIF2AK1-related LEMPSAD syndrome, EIF4A2-related disorder, and PPFIA3-related disorder. Clinical Study Contact: chao-lab@bcm.edu
Contact Us
Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute
1250 Moursund St
Houston, TX 77030
hsiaotuan.chao@bcm.edu
eriel.eaglin@bcm.edu
Phone: (713) 798-8548
