Welcome to the Meffert Lab

The Meffert lab in the Department of Biological Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine investigates how selective programs of gene expression are recruited and maintained to mediate enduring changes in nervous system function at synaptic, neuronal, and cognitive levels.  Rather than focusing on single genes, we interrogate processes that allow dynamic coordinated regulation of multiple genes.  Biological strategies for compartmentalized control of gene programs are studied, with a focus on the roles played by non-coding RNA and RNA-binding proteins.  Revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying gene expression programs responsible for healthy synapse growth and development allows us to shed light on how dysregulation of these processes can contribute to disorders of the nervous system.