John Rubenstein

Dr. John Rubenstein is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He also serves as a Nina Ireland Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry at the Nina Ireland Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology. His research focuses on the regulatory genes that orchestrate development of the forebrain. In the mammalian embryo, the forebrain is the portion of the neural tube where primitive cells are organized to form the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia and other components of the adult brain — the structures of the human brain most involved in key functions such as speech, language, cognition and fine motor skills. Dr. Rubenstein’s lab has demonstrated the role of specific genes in regulating neuronal specification, differentiation, migration and axon growth during embryonic development and on into adulthood. His work aims to elucidate mechanisms underlying human neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, epilepsy and mental deficiency. Dr. Rubenstein joined the Psychiatry Department at UCSF in 1991. He received his Ph.D. and M.D. degrees in 1982 and 1986 and completed his medical residency at Stanford University. He obtained his B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1977. Dr. Rubenstein was elected to the National Institute of Medicine in 2006.