The cortex is the part of the brain responsible for complex cognitive functions such as conscious thought, language abilities, and problem-solving. Yet the precise mechanisms that have driven its expansion during evolution remain unclear. In a new international collaboration, the Albert group at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) will investigate how an interplay between epigenetic regulation and the extracellular matrix – a network of molecules outside cells that provides structural support and signals to tissues – could shape the development of the human cortex. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a part of a new Korean-German research program.

Prof. Mareike Albert (CRTD) is joining forces with Prof. Yoichi Kosodo from the Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI). Their project is one of only 20 selected in a highly competitive joint call by the DFG and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).

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