My Lab Unlocked: The Molnár Laboratory, Oxford
Professor Zoltán Molnár FRSB on studying the evolution and development of mammalian brains
By Author, 3 Mar 2026
In
The Molnár Laboratory explores the development and evolution of the mammalian cerebral cortex. Understanding the evolution and development of this structure is central to our understanding of human intelligence and creativity, as well as altered cognitive functions that can be seen in cognitive developmental conditions such as schizophrenia or autism. We are interested in these early interactions between the unfolding genetic programs of development with the environmental signals that set the coordinates for the further establishment of cortical areas.
The developing brain is already active while it is being constructed and the early activity patterns are vital to its subsequent development. The information that our brain starts to process during development plays a vital role in its future organisation. The complex interplay between various cell types (neurons, astrocytes, microglia, myelin) establish circuits that begin to make sense of the environment and perform complex computational functions. Developmental abnormalities can be subtle, but still lead to devastating consequences. Alterations in proportions or assembly of various neurons can have a substantial effect on behaviour. One of the greatest challenges is that the functions of some of these cortical circuits are not fully understood even in normal conditions, and therefore understanding the consequences of their subtle alteration in developmental abnormalities can be very difficult.
We study transient subplate neurons of the cerebral cortex, which are vital for the establishment of the intra and extracortical circuits, and are involved in various developmental abnormalities
An image showing alterations in the size and morphology of the subplate remnant layer 6b neurons in the PTEN cKO mouse.
Where PTEN is deleted from a subpopulation of layer 6b neurons, this appears red in the cortex with projections to the thalamus.
From the work of Florina Szabó and Marissa Mueller in collaboration with the laboratory of Professor Britta Eickholt (Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin).
The Molnár laboratory studies transient subplate neurons of the cerebral cortex, which have a vital role in development. They are transient, only present during early development and no longer found in the adult brain. These cells form a platform on which the rest of the cerebral cortex develops. They are vital for the establishment of the intra and extracortical circuits and their involvement has been implicated in various developmental abnormalities. For instance, if a baby has perinatal hypoxic ischaemic injury, some of these transient cells can die off early and the building work can’t be finished – e.g., cerebral palsy can develop, and it can influence the individuals for the rest of their life. In other conditions, for instance in schizophrenia or autism, more subplate cells can survive, and they can have a different impact on sensory perception and brain state regulation. Our laboratory explores how these abnormalities arise and how they produce altered cognitive conditions.
The history of the Molnár laboratory reflects the changing research environment of Oxford. I was recruited to Oxford from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in Jan 2000 to join the Human Anatomy Department. The department was subsequently merged with the University Laboratory of Physiology, where I originally studied for my PhD, and the merged new department is now called the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics. This is the largest preclinical department of the University of Oxford, and it has been consistently ranked as the top institution in its category over the last five years. My laboratory enjoys the broad expertise of my outstanding colleagues in molecular and cellular and integrative systems neuroscience. I also enjoy that I can learn about cardiac and respiratory physiology or nanoscience when I attend departmental seminars.
We are very fortunate to have strong local collaborators within our department in broad areas, including sensory physiology, sleep, and stem cell biology. My laboratory is part of several consortia, such as the Oxford Martin School Programme on 3D printing for brain repair. This programme is pioneering a radical new approach in which the brain is repaired with 3D-printed neural tissues. The project aims to create cortical tissue by generating neurons and support cells from human stem cells, ‘pre organising’ the cells in three dimensions and then culturing the cells in-vitro to prepare them for implantation, initially in animal models. I am also associated to Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin as Einstein Visiting Fellow (2020-2026). This collaboration opened new grounds in understanding the functions of the remnants of the subplate neurons in brain state regulations, and also understanding the behavioural consequences of manipulating these cell populations.
I follow the work of my previous students and postdoctoral fellows who are now scattered around the world. They are leading their own laboratories to provide answers to some of these complex developmental and evolutionary puzzles. We are very fortunate to be able to attract excellent medical, biomedical and biology students and have a constant flow of superb postdoctoral fellows from all over the world.
I am very grateful to our funders and other supporting organisations. The research in my laboratory received funding from Medical Research Council UK, BBSRC, with postdoctoral fellowship support from HFSP, EU and with graduate studentship funding from The Wellcome Trust, MRC, Felix Scholarship, Goodger Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship. I also received support for our History of Medical Sciences Project from The Wellcome Trust and from FENS. I am very grateful for the support from the St John’s College Research Centre.
Zoltán Molnár FRSB is Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at the Molnar Laboratory, University of Oxford