Michael Greenberg

Michael Greenberg, Ph.D.

Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Professor of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital
Director of the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research, Harvard Medical School
617-432-2510
Greenberg Lab Website

Michael Greenberg, Ph.D. – Faculty Profile

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Title: Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School; Director of the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital.

The Aim

The Greenberg Lab studies how life experiences turn genes on or off to shape learning and brain development. The lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which sensory experiences regulate gene expression in the brain.

The Impact

This research has illuminated how the brain rewires itself in response to experience, a process essential for learning, memory, and behavior. Several of the genes and pathways the lab has identified are mutated in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, positioning this work as foundational for developing new therapies for these conditions.

A Closer Look

Article: State of Stasis , Harvard Medical School / Harvard Gazette, June 2020. This piece describes how Mike Greenberg and colleagues identified a tiny cluster of hypothalamic neurons that can flip mice into and out of a hibernation‑like state, or torpor, revealing brain circuits that dial down body temperature and metabolism and opening avenues for understanding suspended animation and its medical uses.

Article: Decoding Brain Evolution , Harvard Medical School, December 2021. This article highlights Mike Greenberg’s co‑leadership of the Allen Discovery Center for Human Brain Evolution, which links evolutionary genetic variants to their effects in neurons to explain how human brains acquired uniquely human cognitive and behavioral capacities.

Contact

Email: michael_greenberg@hms.harvard.edu
Lab website: greenberg.hms.harvard.edu

Publications View
Using whole-exome sequencing to identify inherited causes of autism.
Authors: Authors: Yu TW, Chahrour MH, Coulter ME, Jiralerspong S, Okamura-Ikeda K, Ataman B, Schmitz-Abe K, Harmin DA, Adli M, Malik AN, D'Gama AM, Lim ET, Sanders SJ, Mochida GH, Partlow JN, Sunu CM, Felie JM, Rodriguez J, Nasir RH, Ware J, Joseph RM, Hill RS, Kwan BY, Al-Saffar M, Mukaddes NM, Hashmi A, Balkhy S, Gascon GG, Hisama FM, LeClair E, Poduri A, Oner O, Al-Saad S, Al-Awadi SA, Bastaki L, Ben-Omran T, Teebi AS, Al-Gazali L, Eapen V, Stevens CR, Rappaport L, Gabriel SB, Markianos K, State MW, Greenberg ME, Taniguchi H, Braverman NE, Morrow EM, Walsh CA.
Neuron
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Activity-dependent neuronal signalling and autism spectrum disorder.
Authors: Authors: Ebert DH, Greenberg ME.
Nature
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Seroepidemiologic effects of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
Authors: Authors: Trauer JM, Bandaranayake D, Booy R, Chen MI, Cretikos M, Dowse GK, Dwyer DE, Greenberg ME, Huang QS, Khandaker G, Kok J, Laurie KL, Lee VJ, McVernon J, Walter S, Markey PG.
Emerg Infect Dis
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A chemical genetic approach reveals distinct EphB signaling mechanisms during brain development.
Authors: Authors: Soskis MJ, Ho HY, Bloodgood BL, Robichaux MA, Malik AN, Ataman B, Rubin AA, Zieg J, Zhang C, Shokat KM, Sharma N, Cowan CW, Greenberg ME.
Nat Neurosci
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Integrated genome analysis suggests that most conserved non-coding sequences are regulatory factor binding sites.
Authors: Authors: Hemberg M, Gray JM, Cloonan N, Kuersten S, Grimmond S, Greenberg ME, Kreiman G.
Nucleic Acids Res
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Microglia sculpt postnatal neural circuits in an activity and complement-dependent manner.
Authors: Authors: Schafer DP, Lehrman EK, Kautzman AG, Koyama R, Mardinly AR, Yamasaki R, Ransohoff RM, Greenberg ME, Barres BA, Stevens B.
Neuron
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Wnt5a-Ror-Dishevelled signaling constitutes a core developmental pathway that controls tissue morphogenesis.
Authors: Authors: Ho HY, Susman MW, Bikoff JB, Ryu YK, Jonas AM, Hu L, Kuruvilla R, Greenberg ME.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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The nogo receptor family restricts synapse number in the developing hippocampus.
Authors: Authors: Wills ZP, Mandel-Brehm C, Mardinly AR, McCord AE, Giger RJ, Greenberg ME.
Neuron
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Bhlhb5 and Prdm8 form a repressor complex involved in neuronal circuit assembly.
Authors: Authors: Ross SE, McCord AE, Jung C, Atan D, Mok SI, Hemberg M, Kim TK, Salogiannis J, Hu L, Cohen S, Lin Y, Harrar D, McInnes RR, Greenberg ME.
Neuron
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Whole-exome sequencing and homozygosity analysis implicate depolarization-regulated neuronal genes in autism.
Authors: Authors: Chahrour MH, Yu TW, Lim ET, Ataman B, Coulter ME, Hill RS, Stevens CR, Schubert CR, Greenberg ME, Gabriel SB, Walsh CA.
PLoS Genet
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