Maria Lehtinen Explained

Maria K. Lehtinen
Workplaces:Harvard Medical School
Awards:NYSCF Robertson Neuroscience Investigator
Alma Mater:Harvard University (PhD)
Field:Neuroscience

Maria K. Lehtinen is a neuroscientist and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. She is a New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Neuroscience Investigator[1] [2] and holds the Hannah C. Kinney, MD Chair in Pediatric Pathology Research at Boston Children's Hospital.[3] Her research focuses on cerebrospinal fluid-based signaling in the central nervous system.

Education and Training

Lehtinen did her undergraduate studies at University of Pennsylvania.[4] She then received her PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard University working in the laboratory of Azad Bonni. Her graduate work elucidating the biological mechanisms of oxidative stress has been cited over 700 times.[5]

Lehtinen did a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Anna-Elina Lehesjoki at the University of Helsinki in Finland where she discovered a physiological mechanism underlying progressive myoclonus epilepsy.[6] She then continued her postdoctoral work with Christopher A. Walsh at Boston Children's Hospital, discovering that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) affects the proliferation of neural progenitor cells during brain development.[7]

Career and Research

In 2010, Lehtinen received a prestigious K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.[8] This award funded her transition from postdoctoral fellow to assistant professor as she launched her independent laboratory at Boston Children's Hospital studying CSF-mediated signaling during development.

Lehtinen's work has shed light on several crucial aspects of biology. Her early groundbreaking work demonstrated formerly unrecognized spatial heterogeneity in the choroid plexus.[9] She has made several discoveries on the mechanisms of brain development,[10] [11] and how that development is regulated by amniotic fluid and CSF.[12] Her work has also identified mechanistic underpinnings of developmental abnormalities including choroid plexus and ciliary body tumorigenesis [13] and microcephaly in LIG4 syndrome[14]

Awards and honors

Lehtinen was a recipient of the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robertson Neuroscience Investigators Archives. NYSCF.
  2. Web site: NYSCF announces $9 million in grant awards to 6 new NYSCF -- Robertson Investigators. EurekAlert!. en. 2020-03-07.
  3. Web site: Maria K. Lehtinen, PhD Researcher Boston Children's Hospital. www.childrenshospital.org. 2020-03-07.
  4. Web site: Lehtinen Lab Members Boston Children's Hospital. www.childrenshospital.org. 2020-03-07.
  5. Lehtinen. Maria K.. Yuan. Zengqiang. Boag. Peter R.. Yang. Yue. Villén. Judit. Becker. Esther B. E.. DiBacco. Sara. Iglesia. Núria de la. Gygi. Steven. Blackwell. T. Keith. Bonni. Azad. 2006-06-02. A Conserved MST-FOXO Signaling Pathway Mediates Oxidative-Stress Responses and Extends Life Span. Cell. English. 125. 5. 987–1001. 10.1016/j.cell.2006.03.046. 0092-8674. 16751106. 14496749. free.
  6. Lehtinen. M. K.. Tegelberg. S.. Schipper. H.. Su. H.. Zukor. H.. Manninen. O.. Kopra. O.. Joensuu. T.. Hakala. P.. Bonni. A.. Lehesjoki. A.-E.. 2009-05-06. Cystatin B Deficiency Sensitizes Neurons to Oxidative Stress in Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy, EPM1. Journal of Neuroscience. en. 29. 18. 5910–5915. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0682-09.2009. 0270-6474. 2694495. 19420257.
  7. Lehtinen. Maria K.. Zappaterra. Mauro W.. Chen. Xi. Yang. Yawei J.. Hill. Anthony D.. Lun. Melody. Maynard. Thomas. Gonzalez. Dilenny. Kim. Seonhee. Ye. Ping. D'Ercole. A. Joseph. March 2011. The Cerebrospinal Fluid Provides a Proliferative Niche for Neural Progenitor Cells. Neuron. en. 69. 5. 893–905. 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.01.023. 3085909. 21382550.
  8. Web site: Maria Lehtinen Harvard Catalyst Profiles Harvard Catalyst. connects.catalyst.harvard.edu. 2020-04-12.
  9. Lun. Melody P.. Johnson. Matthew B.. Broadbelt. Kevin G.. Watanabe. Momoko. Kang. Young-Jin. Chau. Kevin F.. Springel. Mark W.. Malesz. Alexandra. Sousa. André M. M.. Pletikos. Mihovil. Adelita. Tais. 2015-03-25. Spatially heterogeneous choroid plexus transcriptomes encode positional identity and contribute to regional CSF production. The Journal of Neuroscience. 35. 12. 4903–4916. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3081-14.2015. 1529-2401. 4389594. 25810521.
  10. Chau. Kevin F.. Shannon. Morgan L.. Fame. Ryann M.. Fonseca. Erin. Mullan. Hillary. Johnson. Matthew B.. Sendamarai. Anoop K.. Springel. Mark W.. Laurent. Benoit. Lehtinen. Maria K.. 10 May 2018. Downregulation of ribosome biogenesis during early forebrain development. eLife. 7. 10.7554/eLife.36998. 2050-084X. 5984036. 29745900 . free .
  11. Smith. Richard S.. Kenny. Connor J.. Ganesh. Vijay. Jang. Ahram. Borges-Monroy. Rebeca. Partlow. Jennifer N.. Hill. R. Sean. Shin. Taehwan. Chen. Allen Y.. Doan. Ryan N.. Anttonen. Anna-Kaisa. 5 September 2018. Sodium Channel SCN3A (NaV1.3) Regulation of Human Cerebral Cortical Folding and Oral Motor Development. Neuron. 99. 5. 905–913.e7. 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.07.052. 1097-4199. 6226006. 30146301.
  12. Chau. Kevin F.. Springel. Mark W.. Broadbelt. Kevin G.. Park. Hye-Yeon. Topal. Salih. Lun. Melody P.. Mullan. Hillary. Maynard. Thomas. Steen. Hanno. LaMantia. Anthony S.. Lehtinen. Maria K.. 2015-12-21. Progressive Differentiation and Instructive Capacities of Amniotic Fluid and Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteomes following Neural Tube Closure. Developmental Cell. 35. 6. 789–802. 10.1016/j.devcel.2015.11.015. 1878-1551. 4691285. 26702835.
  13. Shannon. Morgan L.. Fame. Ryann M.. Chau. Kevin F.. Dani. Neil. Calicchio. Monica L.. Géléoc. Gwenaelle S.. Lidov. Hart G. W.. Alexandrescu. Sanda. Lehtinen. Maria K.. June 2018. Mice Expressing Myc in Neural Precursors Develop Choroid Plexus and Ciliary Body Tumors. The American Journal of Pathology. 188. 6. 1334–1344. 10.1016/j.ajpath.2018.02.009. 1525-2191. 5971223. 29545198.
  14. Lun. Melody P.. Shannon. Morgan L.. Keles. Sevgi. Reisli. Ismail. Luche. Nicole. Ryan. Douglas. Capuder. Kelly. Notarangelo. Luigi D.. Lehtinen. Maria K.. December 2019. Spatiotemporal Gradient of Cortical Neuron Death Contributes to Microcephaly in Knock-In Mouse Model of Ligase 4 Syndrome. The American Journal of Pathology. 189. 12. 2440–2449. 10.1016/j.ajpath.2019.08.010. 1525-2191. 6897336. 31541646.
  15. Web site: President Obama Honors Federally-Funded Early-Career Scientists. 9 January 2017 . 28 May 2022.

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