With support from the ISCRM fellowship, Sarah John aims to investigate how the dysfunction of TAOK1 kinase results in perturbed early brain development and macrocephaly. Sarah will utilize hiPSCs harboring TAOK1 NDD associated mutations to generate dorsal forebrain neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and cortical brain organoids. Together with mass spectrometry and high-resolution imaging, she aims to identify signaling deficits that can be therapeutically targeted to treat macrocephaly caused by TAOK1 associated mutations.