Maria Morrell, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School

Adult neural stem cells are present in several discrete locations in the brain. In our research, we are interested in how these cells can be directed to replace neurons and glia (supporting cells) lost due to injury, disease or normal aging. These neural stem cells were removed from an adult mouse brain, grown in tissue culture and induced to differentiate into neurons and glial cells of the nervous system. Cell nuclei are blue, the glial cells are red, and the processes of the neurons are green.