{"id":2,"date":"2019-07-15T15:29:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T15:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/labs.icahn.mssm.edu\/breenlab\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-09-18T19:10:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:10:31","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.icahn.mssm.edu\/breenlab\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Human Brain Genetics \u00b7 RNA Biology \u00b7 Precision Therapeutics<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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\"\"The Breen Lab <\/strong>integrates human genetics, large-scale genomics, computational biology and experimental neuroscience <\/strong>to discover molecular mechanisms of human brain development and disease, and translate these discoveries into new therapeutic strategies. Our work has particular strengths in human brain genomics and RNA biology, spanning genetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation from molecular discovery through functional validation and therapeutic development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Research Highlights<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Nature Neuroscience<\/em>, 2019. <\/strong>Genetic variation links RNA editing to schizophrenia.<\/a><\/p>\n

Large-scale human brain genomics revealed widespread dysregulation and genetic control of A-to-I RNA editing in schizophrenia.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Nature Communications<\/em>, 2024.<\/strong>The living human brain reveals an RNA landscape hidden by postmortem studies.<\/a><\/p>\n

Direct comparison of living and postmortem human cortex revealed profound context-dependent differences in RNA editing across cell types, pathways and genetic regulation.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Nature Communications<\/em>, 2026.<\/strong> Trisomy 21 drives premature RNA recoding during human brain development.<\/a><\/p>\n

Human fetal brain and cross-cohort analyses revealed ADARB1 overexpression and premature neuronal RNA recoding in trisomy 21.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Research Team<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Michael S. Breen, PhD <\/strong>(he\/him)<\/span><\/h4>\n

Associate Professor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael S. Breen, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He leads an interdisciplinary computational and experimental research program investigating how genetic and RNA regulation shape human brain development, disease, and response to treatment.<\/p>\n

A central focus of Dr. Breen\u2019s research is A-to-I RNA editing. His laboratory has defined genetic, cellular, developmental, and disease-associated regulation of RNA editing in the human brain, including studies of schizophrenia, brain development, aging and Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and direct comparisons of living and postmortem human brain. More broadly, the laboratory integrates human genetics with large-scale, single-cell and multi-omic genomics, patient-derived neural models, and experimental perturbation to move from human genomic discovery to biological mechanism. Building on these discoveries, the laboratory is developing programmable RNA editing strategies that harness endogenous editing machinery to repair pathogenic transcripts in genetic neurological disease.<\/p>\n

Dr. Breen established his laboratory at Mount Sinai in 2019 and leads a multidisciplinary team of computational and experimental scientists. His research program has attracted more than $10 million in federal, foundation, and industry support and has produced nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications spanning human genetics, neuroscience, genomics, and RNA biology. He also works extensively with academic and industry partners on human genomics, biomarkers, and therapeutic development. Dr. Breen is committed to training scientists who can work across disciplinary boundaries and to fostering scientific independence, rigorous thinking, and collaboration across computational and experimental research.<\/p>\n

Google Scholar<\/a> | PubMed<\/a> | LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n

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Miguel Rodriguez de los Santos, PhD <\/strong>(he\/him)<\/div>\n
Associate Scientist<\/em><\/strong>
Contact:<\/strong> miguel.rodriguezdls [at] mssm.edu<\/em><\/div>\n
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Miguel completed his masters in Molecular Biology at the University of Potsdam, Germany, in which he also studied at the University of Rome \u201cLa Sapienza\u201d, Italy within the ERASMUS exchange program. In his master thesis, he focused on gene editing and on making CRISPR-gene editing more efficient towards homology-directed repair events. Miguel obtained his PhD at the Charit\u00e9, University Medicine in Berlin, Germany, where he worked on CRISPR-engineered mouse models for rare neurodevelopmental disorders. More specifically, Miguel studied the molecular and behavioral outcomes of patient-specific mutations affecting the GPI anchor pathway in mice. In 2022, Miguel joined the Breen Lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as a postdoctoral fellow where he is developing novel mutation-tailored therapeutic approaches for autism spectrum disorder and rare genetic subtypes. Outside research, Miguel loves outdoor sports, politics, food and exploring the city.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Muriel Li (they\/she)<\/strong><\/div>\n
Master’s Student<\/em><\/strong>
Contact:<\/strong> Muriel.Li@icahn.mssm.edu<\/div>\n
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Muriel is a Master\u2019s student in the Biomedical Sciences program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. They completed their bachelor\u2019s degrees in Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston University in 2024. Muriel is interested in understanding the biological mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. During their undergraduate research, they studied the neuromodulation of social behaviors in Drosophila models relevant to psychiatric disorders. In the Breen Lab, Muriel is working on optimizing RNA guide designs to rescue disease-associated NF1 variants. In the future, Muriel hopes to pursue a PhD in neuroscience or biomedical sciences. Outside of research, they enjoy music, art, exploring the city, and spending time with their cat.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Andy Yang <\/strong>(he\/him)<\/div>\n
Bioinformatician<\/strong><\/em>
Contact:<\/strong> andy.yang [at] icahn.mssm.edu<\/div>\n
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Andy is a Master’s student tin the Biomedical Sciences program and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He graduated from Crown College in 2022 with a degree in Health Sciences and Medical Biology. In his undergraduate thesis, he focused on identifying potential biomarkers of the senescence-associated secretive in age-associated tumors using bioinformatics. Through his research project, he gained a newfound interest in computational biology and later joined the Breen lab in January 2023 to further his studies in functional genomics. For his research, he is resolving cell type- and isoform-specific RNA editing across the human cortex. In the future, he aims to pursue a PhD in computational biology and to continue on his journey in academia. Outside of research, he enjoys getting lost in music, indulging in good stories, and spending quality time with loved ones over dinner!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lab Alumni<\/strong><\/div>\n
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