The Reiter Lab uses both animal models (Drosophila) and patient derived stem cells (Dental Pulp Stem Cells) to understand the basic underpinnings of neurogenetic disorders on the autism spectrum.
These disorders include several chromosome 15q syndromes with a focus on Duplication 15q and Prader-Willi syndromes. We have developed a powerful glial cell specific model of
Dup15q epilepsy in Drosophila that we currently use for small molecule screening to suppress seizures. We also have been working on various molecular aspects of Prader-Willi syndrome in
neurons derived from our DPSC collection including circadian defects, mitochondrial defects and autism.
