Aku Owusu-Afriyie
Academic and Work Experience Prior to Sept 2024 Programme Start
I completed my BSc in Biochemistry before taking a gap year to work in Cape Town, South Africa, where I joined a biotech start-up supporting COVID-19 diagnostics during the pandemic. I went on to pursue a Master’s in Translational Neuroscience at Imperial College London, where my research focused on identifying therapeutic targets to promote regeneration after spinal cord injury. After this, I worked as an in vivo research assistant at University College London, investigating DNA- and protein-level therapeutic strategies for Huntington’s disease. These experiences shaped my interest in neurodevelopment, regeneration, and modelling human neurological disorders.
PhD Programme- Year 1- MRes and Project Rotations
My first PhD rotation project was in the labs of Dr. Juan Burrone and Dr. Ivo Lieberam, where I developed a 2D co-culture model combining excitatory glutamatergic neurons with defined interneuron subtypes. This work aimed to promote a more cortical identity in excitatory neurons and provided insights into excitatory/inhibitory interactions during development.
During my second rotation project with Prof. Beatriz Rico, I generated human ESC-derived brain organoids with a medial ganglionic eminence (MGE)-like identity, characterised by NKX2.1, LHX6, and LHX8 expression, with some CGE contributions. These organoids formed the foundation for xenotransplantation experiments modelling human interneuron development and integration in vivo.
My third rotation project, supervised by Prof. Benedikt Berninger, focused on using FACS to enrich organoid-derived populations for an MGE-like identity, minimising progenitor heterogeneity and enabling more precise interrogation of human interneuron maturation. I also began analysing existing scRNA-seq datasets and post-transplantation tissue to understand how sorted and unsorted populations behave after xenotransplantation.
PhD Programme- Years 2 to 4- Doctoral Studies
My PhD is co-supervised by Prof. Beatriz Rico and Prof. Benedikt Berninger. I am investigating how SHANK3 mutations influence the development, maturation, and synaptic integration of human SST and PV interneuron subtypes. Using an organoid-based platform combined with xenotransplantation into the mouse brain, my work aims to uncover how SHANK3-related disruptions affect interneuron lineage trajectories and excitatory–inhibitory circuit formation, offering insights relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Phelan-McDermid syndrome and autism.
