Anastassia Voronova
Research Areas:
Neural stem cells, neurodevelopment, regeneration, neurodevelopmental disorders, KBG syndrome, glia, remyelination, multiple sclerosis, epigenetics, cell-to-cell communication
Our Research:
One of the fundamental questions in neurobiology focuses on how neural stem cells build and repair the brain.
In my lab, we use animal and primary cell culture models as well as cellular and molecular techniques to answer how neural stem cells generate their progeny, such as myelin-forming oligodendrocytes, in the developing and regenerating brain. Specifically, we are investigating how neural stem cells are regulated by:
1) interactions with neighbouring cells, such as inhibitory interneurons, and
2) neurodevelopmental disorder risk epigenetic genes, such as Ankrd11 (Ankyrin Repeat Domain 11, which is mutated in KBG Syndrome).]
Our goal is to use the lessons learned from normal brain development to design novel therapies for neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders. In this light, we are investigating the effect of developmentally important interneuron-secreted cytokines on neural precursors in the developing and adult murine brain. To achieve this, we are using pre-clinical mouse models of KBG Syndrome and Multiple Sclerosis.
Selected Publications:
Regulation of CNS precursor function by neuronal chemokines
Watson AES, Goodkey K, Footz T, Voronova A.
Neurosci Lett. 2020 Jan 10;715:134533. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31629772
A translational repression complex in developing mammalian neural stem cells that regulates neuronal specification
Zahr S.K., Yang G., Kazan H., Borrett M.J., Yuzwa S.A., Voronova A., Kaplan D.R. and Miller F.D.
Neuron (2018) 97(3):520-537.e6.
Developmental emergence of adult neural stem cells as revealed by single cell transcriptional profiling
Yuzwa S.A, Borrett M.J., Innes B., Voronova A., Ketela T., Kaplan D.R., Bader, G.D. and Miller F.D.
Cell Reports (2017) 21(13):3970-3986
Migrating interneurons secrete fractalkine to promote oligodendrocyte formation in the developing mammalian brain
Voronova A., Yuzwa S.A., Wang B., Siraj Z., Syal. C., Wang J., Kaplan D. R. and Miller F. D.
Neuron (2017) 94(3):500-516.e9. Featured article.
Ankrd11 is a chromatin regulator involved in autism that is essential for neural development
Gallagher D.*, Voronova A.*, Zander, M. A., Cancino G. I., Bramall A., Krause M. P., Abad C., Tekin M., Neilsen P. M., Callen D. F., Scherer S. W., Keller G. M., Kaplan D.R., Walz K. and Miller F. D.
Dev. Cell (2015), 32(1): 31-42.
*These authors contributed equally.
Please inquire via E-mail (voronova@ualberta.ca) with your transcript (unofficial is suitable) and a CV with the names of at least two academic referees.
Tim Footz - Senior Research Technician
Dr. Monique Marylin Alves de Almeida Carneiro - Postdoctoral Fellow
Adrianne Watson - Graduate Student
Nicole Dittmann - Graduate Student
Yana Kibalnyk - Graduate Student