Mohamad Khazaei

Research Synopsis: 

My research program focuses on understanding and repairing human neural circuits in the context of brain injury, cancer, and neurological disease. A major theme of my lab is traumatic brain injury (TBI), where we study how injury disrupts long-range neural connectivity and why the adult brain has a limited capacity to restore these circuits. Using human stem cell–derived neural systems, we investigate mechanisms of neuronal vulnerability, repair, and functional reintegration, with the goal of informing future regenerative strategies for brain injury.

A second major direction of my research addresses glioblastoma and other aggressive brain tumors through the development of cell-based therapeutic approaches. This work examines interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding neural microenvironment and explores how engineered neural cells can be designed to selectively target tumor tissue. The overarching aim is to contribute to safer and more precise therapeutic strategies for brain cancer.

Underlying both areas is a strong emphasis on human brain organoid technologies. My lab develops and applies brain organoids as human-relevant platforms to model neural development, injury responses, and disease processes that are difficult to capture in animal models. These systems provide a foundation for studying neurological disorders and for testing emerging therapeutic concepts in a controlled, human-specific context.

Administrative Assistant: Kara Kim, kara.kim@utoronto.ca