Novitch

HOME

BENNETT NOVITCH, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology

Bennett Novitch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and a member of the Broad Stem Cell Center at UCLA since 2007. He received an M.M.Sc. in 1993 from Harvard Medical School for studies in Medical Sciences, and a Ph.D. in 1998 from Harvard University for studies in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology.

As a graduate student with Andrew Lassar at Harvard University, Dr. Novitch studied how the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein, cyclins, and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors together regulate the proliferation, cell cycle exit, and differentiation of skeletal muscle cells. Dr. Novitch then trained as a postdoctoral fellow in Tom Jessell’s lab in the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University where he focused on how neural stem and progenitor cells in the developing spinal cord become specialized to give rise to motor neurons. During this work, he identified a transcription factor called Olig2 that plays an essential role in the generation of these cells and in stimulating neuronal differentiation. He then served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan Medical School where his laboratory focused on identifying the genetic targets of Olig2 and determining the function of these genes in motor neuron development. At UCLA, Dr. Novitch and his laboratory will continue to define the signaling pathways and transcription factor networks that regulate neural stem cell proliferation, differentiation, and neuronal identity.