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