Hester Lab
The Hester Lab is part of the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which is at the forefront of precision medicine and using genomic sequencing in clinical settings to predict best health outcomes for patients. The Hester Lab utilizes a multidisciplinary approach in our research that encompasses genomic medicine, neuroscience, stem cell biology, biochemistry and molecular genetics to investigate the dynamic nature of the developing brain both in the context of health and neurological disease.
A specific interest of the Hester Lab is to understand the molecular and cellular basis of pediatric epilepsy such as developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). DEEs are a class of severe brain disorders associated with early age onset and manifest with intractable and multi-form seizures. While advances in genomic medicine have allowed the identification of de novo genetic variants associated with DEEs, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that cause these disorders are not well understood. The Hester Lab team is leveraging several key technological tools that include the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), human brain organoid models, genome editing tools, OMICs technologies and the use of novel transgenic mouse models to address this knowledge gap.
Additionally, the lab’s team is investigating molecular mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). Although the causes of ASD and ID are considered genetically diverse, defective synaptogenesis is emerging as a common pathological feature that may account for a significant proportion of these conditions. We are leveraging patient-specific brain organoid models and taking a ‘deep phenotyping’ approach to investigate synaptic disease mechanisms at single-cell resolution, thus enabling the identification of cell-specific responses, compensatory changes, and developmental trajectories underlying the pathophysiology of ASD and ID.
Ultimately, the long-term goal of the Hester Lab is to rapidly translate research discoveries into lasting treatment options for pediatric patients afflicted with neurological disorders.
Meet Our Team
Mark Hester, PhD
Principal Investigator
Mark.Hester@NationwideChildrens.org
Marl Hester, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Institute for Genomic Medicine. He leads a translational neuroscience laboratory focused on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurological disorders with emphasis on pediatric epilepsy and autism. Dr. Hester is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and an affiliate faculty member in the college’s Department of Neuroscience. He is also a member of the Chronic Brain Injury (CBI) Program at Ohio State. Dr. Hester has a widely recognized track record of over 20 years of research on adult and pluripotent stem cells, neurodegeneration, gene therapy, next generation sequencing, reprogramming and in vitro disease modeling.
Dr. Hester first began studying the genetic underpinnings of neurological disease during his postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Brian Kaspar’s lab in the Jerry R. Mendell Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His team bioengineered the first in vitro co-culture model of sporadic ALS astrocytes and motor neurons uncovering insights into common disease mechanisms between familial and sporadic ALS, which was published in Nature Biotechnology. Dr. Hester’s passion for understanding neurological disease mechanisms then led to new opportunities in industry where he managed projects focused on bioassay development to functionally validate and screen novel therapeutics.
As a new faculty member in the Institute for Genomic Medicine, Dr. Hester’s research couples his expertise in personalized in vitro models with deep phenotyping approaches to understand underlying mechanisms of neurological disease. His team use state-of-the-art equipment and resources such as electrophysiology, high content imaging technologies and patient-specific glial cell lines, as well as genomics tools such as single cell RNA sequencing, that are foundational to their research program.
Morgan Moser, PhD
Post Doctoral Research Scientist
Morgan is a postdoctoral scientist in the Hester Lab. Her research is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of epilepsy in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a rare genetic disorder.
Morgan was born and raised in rural western Maryland and was a first-generation college student. Morgan earned an AS in Chemistry from Hagerstown Community College and a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) before relocating to Ohio for her graduate education. Morgan completed an MS and a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at The Ohio State University.
Gongbo Guo
Research Associate
Gongbo Guo is a PhD candidate in molecular, cellular & developmental biology at The Ohio State University, mentored by Dr. Mark Hester. He passed his candidacy exam in September 2023. He holds a BSc in Biotechnology from Sichuan University (2016) and a master's from the University of Rochester (2018), where he studied Nasonia vitripennis using novel sequencing technologies. He then worked at Johns Hopkins University Medical School on Parkinson’s Disease research and pancreatic cancer. Gongbo’s current research focuses on blood-brain barrier deficits in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) with specific interest on the role of pericytes in mediating pathological calcification. Gongbo is also highly involved in studying Auts2-related neurodevelopmental disorders and the development of a novel gene therapy for TSC Type 2.
Yuxuan Chen
Research Assistant
Yuxuan Chen is a dedicated student research assistant in Hester's lab at The Ohio State University, where he is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in psychology. Expected to graduate with a BS in Fall 2027, Yuxuan is deeply involved in research that primarily focuses on gene therapy for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a rare genetic disorder. His work in the lab is driven by a passion for advancing therapeutic strategies for this challenging condition. Outside of his academic pursuits, Yuxuan enjoys staying active on the badminton court and finds relaxation and creativity through playing the piano in his free time.
Join the IGM Team
The team at the Institute for Genomic Medicine is growing. Click the link below to view current job listings and to learn more about careers at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
