Members’ Labs

Natasha O'Brown, PhD

Assistant Professor
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Rutgers University

Primary Research:

The O’Brown Lab investigates how the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is built during development and how it becomes compromised in disease. Using zebrafish as a primary model, alongside mouse models for cross-species validation, we combine live imaging, genetics, and single-cell approaches to define the cellular and molecular signals that regulate BBB formation, maintenance, and dysfunction. Our work aims to uncover how neural and vascular cells communicate to establish selective permeability in the brain—and how this system fails in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and neuroinflammation.

Laboratory web site URL:

www.obrownlab.com

Recent Presentations:

Angiogenesis Gordon Research Conference, August 2025 (Invited Presentation). Cerebral Vascular Biology (CVB), June 2025 (Invited Presentation). Brain Barriers CSHL, April 2025 (Invited Presentation). Glial Biology Gordon Research Conference, March 2025 (Poster Presentation). University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), March 2025 (Invited Presentation). 10th Annual BHI Symposium, November 2024 (Invited Presentation). University of New Mexico, October 2024 (Invited Presentation).

Collaborative Relationships:

Dr. Ethan Lippmann, Vanderbilt University, School of Engineering
Dr. Brian Daniels, Rutgers University, Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Dr. Peng Jiang, Rutgers University, Cell Biology and Neuroscience

Laboratory Motto:

Inspired by curiosity, built with creativity, sustained by humor.

Members of the Laboratory

Recent Publications

Lindman M, Estevez I, Marmut E, DaPrano EM, Chou TW, Newman K, Atkins C, O'Brown NM, Daniels BP (2025). Astrocytic RIPK3 exerts protective anti-inflammatory activity in mice with viral encephalitis by transcriptional inductions of serpins. Science Signalling, 18:eadq6422. https://doi.org/10.1126/scisignal.adq6422
Katdare KA, Kjar A, O’Brown NM, Neal EH, Sorets AG, Shostak A, Mlouk K, Kim H, Horner KB, M.S. Schrag MS, Megason SG, Lippmann ES (2025). IQGAP2 regulates blood-brain barrier immune dynamics. iScience, 28(3):111994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.111994
Gall L, Stains C, Patel N, Jia B, Freitas-Andrade M, Lacoste B, Megason SG, O’Brown NM (2025). Zebrafish glial-vascular interactions progressively expand over the course of brain development. iScience, 28(1):111549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111549
O’Brown NM, Patel NB, Hartmann U, Klein AM, Gu C, Megason SG (2023). The secreted neuronal signal Spock1 regulates the blood-brain barrier. Developmental Cell, 58(17):1534-1547.e6. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.13.464312