Serena Barral

Serena Barral is a Lecturer in the Department of Developmental Neurosciences at University College London's Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Her research focuses on leveraging human brain organoids and iPSC models to study neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders, aiming to develop targeted therapies.

• Lecturer in Neurosciences (2019-present)
• Former Postdoctoral Research Associate at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (2014-2019)

Her research interests are centered on creating platforms to model neurological disorders using brain organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells. This work involves:

• Investigating sodium channel dysfunction in Dravet syndrome
• Studying gene therapy for dopamine transporter deficiency
• Exploring manganese's role in neurotoxicity
• Modeling DNAJC6 and KMT2B mutation-related pathologies

Recent publications highlight her contributions to:

• Stem cell-based therapies for genetic diseases
• Advancing organoid electrophysiological characterization
• Epigenetic mechanisms in neurodevelopmental disorders
• High-content screening for drug discovery

Serena Barral teaches on UCL's MSc modules, including:

• Stem Cells and Tissue Repair (2019-present)
• Clinical Genomics, Genetics & Rare Diseases (2020-present)
• Personalised Medicine (2024-present)

She is actively involved in the Developmental Neurosciences Collaboration Network and UCL's Stem Cell Initiative.