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
The Ror1 receptor tyrosine kinase plays a critical role in regulating satellite cell proliferation during regeneration of injured muscle.
Authors: Authors: Kamizaki K, Doi R, Hayashi M, Saji T, Kanagawa M, Toda T, Fukada SI, Ho HH, Greenberg ME, Endo M, Minami Y.
J Biol Chem
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Kinesin superfamily protein Kif26b links Wnt5a-Ror signaling to the control of cell and tissue behaviors in vertebrates.
Authors: Authors: Susman MW, Karuna EP, Kunz RC, Gujral TS, Cantú AV, Choi SS, Jong BY, Okada K, Scales MK, Hum J, Hu LS, Kirschner MW, Nishinakamura R, Yamada S, Laird DJ, Jao LE, Gygi SP, Greenberg ME, Ho HH.
Elife
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A dual role for the RhoGEF Ephexin5 in regulation of dendritic spine outgrowth.
Authors: Authors: Hamilton AM, Lambert JT, Parajuli LK, Vivas O, Park DK, Stein IS, Jahncke JN, Greenberg ME, Margolis SS, Zito K.
Mol Cell Neurosci
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DNA methylation in the gene body influences MeCP2-mediated gene repression.
Authors: Authors: Kinde B, Wu DY, Greenberg ME, Gabel HW.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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Evolution of Osteocrin as an activity-regulated factor in the primate brain.
Authors: Authors: Ataman B, Boulting GL, Harmin DA, Yang MG, Baker-Salisbury M, Yap EL, Malik AN, Mei K, Rubin AA, Spiegel I, Durresi E, Sharma N, Hu LS, Pletikos M, Griffith EC, Partlow JN, Stevens CR, Adli M, Chahrour M, Sestan N, Walsh CA, Berezovskii VK, Livingstone MS, Greenberg ME.
Nature
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Unidirectional Eph/ephrin signaling creates a cortical actomyosin differential to drive cell segregation.
Authors: Authors: O'Neill AK, Kindberg AA, Niethamer TK, Larson AR, Ho HH, Greenberg ME, Bush JO.
J Cell Biol
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Efficacy of a trivalent influenza vaccine against seasonal strains and against 2009 pandemic H1N1: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Authors: Authors: Mcbride WJH, Abhayaratna WP, Barr I, Booy R, Carapetis J, Carson S, De Looze F, Ellis-Pegler R, Heron L, Karrasch J, Marshall H, Mcvernon J, Nolan T, Rawlinson W, Reid J, Richmond P, Shakib S, Basser RL, Hartel GF, Lai MH, Rockman S, Greenberg ME.
Vaccine
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Heterologous vaccine effects.
Authors: Authors: Saadatian-Elahi M, Aaby P, Shann F, Netea MG, Levy O, Louis J, Picot V, Greenberg M, Warren W.
Vaccine
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Catching the Brain in the Act.
Authors: Authors: Hrvatin S, Nagy MA, Greenberg ME.
Cell
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EphB1 and EphB2 intracellular domains regulate the formation of the corpus callosum and anterior commissure.
Authors: Authors: Robichaux MA, Chenaux G, Ho HY, Soskis MJ, Greenberg ME, Henkemeyer M, Cowan CW.
Dev Neurobiol
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