September 1, 2026
A new platform out of Christian Schlieker’s lab is opening a fresh line of investigation into neurodevelopmental disorders. Schlieker, chair of MB&B, and postdoc Dylan Poch built CondenScreen, a tool that identifies genes linked to dysfunctional biomolecular condensates — the membraneless clusters of molecules that behave like oil droplets in water inside cells. Screening all 20,000 genes in the human genome, the team made a surprising discovery: several top gene candidates tie these condensates to neurodevelopmental disorders such as microcephaly, a connection never previously reported. The platform has also flagged promising, FDA-approved drug candidates for DYT1 dystonia.