"The Macklis Lab in the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, led by Dr. Jeffrey Macklis, MD, investigates neuronal development, neurodegenerative diseases, and applying the understanding of development and degeneration to neuron regeneration in diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is characterized by the degeneration of motor neurons, including corticospinal neurons, which originate in the brain and pass down the spinal cord. The Macklis Lab has been able to use SOX6+/NG2+ progenitor cells, in which differentiation into neuron types can be manipulated, to generate corticospinal neurons. This generation of neurons in the lab holds potential to restore damaged neurons, possibly providing hope to those with neurodegenerative diseases like ALS." - Iphia Zhang, OCW