Welcome! We are a research lab in the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University. Our main research interest is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control the formation of neuronal circuits during nervous system development. To address this question, we are using a combination of in vitro culture assay systems, biochemistry, timelapse microscopy, and transgenic mouse models. Several of the signaling systems that we have identified are mutated in neuro-developmental syndromes such as autism and mental retardation. An important extension of our work on normal nervous system development is therefore to analyze the cellular defects that underlie these disorders.

Peter Scheiffele
Assistant Professor of Physiology
In the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior