HEB Spring 2026 Colloquium Series: Dr. Franck Polleux
From The Observatory
Date
April 30, 2026
Location
Haller Hall, Harvard University
Area
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“My lab is studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cortical development, maintenance and evolution. I will present published and unpublished results pertaining to our work on human brain evolution. We study the role of human-specific gene duplication and their impact on cortical connectivity and circuit function in mouse and human neurons. I will also discuss our recent discovery showing that these human-specific genes are not only relevant to understand human brain evolution but also can act as human-specific disease modifiers at least in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders.”
Key Speaker: Franck Polleux
Participants
Harvard University Department of Human Evolutionary Biology
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Research and teaching in HEB encompass a diversity of fields including human and non-human primate paleontology, anatomy, physiology, behavioral ecology, genetics, cultural evolution, developmental biology, and more. As a department, we continue to be committed to using the lens of evolution to further our understanding of the human condition using both experimental and observational methods. We are also committed to using those insights to address the challenges we face.
