University of California-San Francisco · NeuroscienceThe Cortex Initiative
Arnold Kriegstein · San Francisco, California
Research Focus
Dr. Arnold Kriegstein's research lab focuses on understanding how the human brain develops and how its complexity relates to neurodevelopmental diseases like autism and schizophrenia. The lab uses innovative technologies to study both human tissue and stem cells to unravel the diversity of neural cells and their roles in brain function. By creating detailed brain atlases of both humans and non-human primates, the lab aims to uncover the fundamental processes of brain development and evolutionary distinctions, ultimately improving therapeutic strategies for brain-related disorders.
brain developmentneurodevelopmental diseaseshuman cerebral cortexcell diversitystem cellscerebral organoidssingle-cell genomicsprimate brain atlasesneural progenitor cellsspatial transcriptomics
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the cellular diversity in human cortical development.
AIM 02Characterize the role of outer radial glia and intermediate progenitor cells in neurodevelopment.
AIM 03Create spatial and molecular atlases of developing human and non-human primate brains.
AIM 04Explore the relationship between neural progenitor cells and neurodevelopmental disorders.
AIM 05Develop in vitro models to study human brain development and disease.
Skills the Lab Values
single-cell RNA-sequencingspatial transcriptomicscerebral organoid culturebioinformatics toolsmolecular biology techniquesMRI imagingcellular assaysepigenomic mappingstem cell differentiationneurogenesis studies
Output against the department
Publications357top 18% of dept.122nd of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations50ktop 7% of dept.45th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.