With ISCRM Fellowship funding, Manith will investigate the role of a microRNA called miR9-2, an important genetic regulator in brain development. Using a mouse model the Cherry Lab has generated, he will study the transitions of cell fate in neuronal STEM cells as well as the development of the vasculature in the brain of mutant mice without miR9-2. The long-term goal of the project is to better understand the genetic causes of congenital hydrocephalus as well as how non-coding elements influence mammalian brain development.