Reprogramming Stars #18:Engineering Cell Fates and Preventing Diseaseby Repressing Unwanted Plasticity—An Interview with Dr. Moritz Mall

REPROGRAMMING STAR: Dr. Moritz Mall is a research group leader at the Hector Institute for Translational Brain Research (HITBR) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). The Mall lab employs mouse models, pluripotent stem cells, organoids, and cell fate engineering to reconstruct and investigate human development and disease. Their mission is to understand the mechanisms that determine and maintain cell fate, with the goal of treating diseases associated with increased cellular plasticity. Their immediate research goal is to understand the role of cell plasticity in brain disorders and cancer, with a focus on autism spectrum disorders and the emerging field of phenotypic plasticity in cancer.