Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating glia cells of the brain, allowing fast conduction of action potentials among neurons, thus imperative for proper neurological functions. The major goal of the research in the Nobuta lab is to develop regenerative therapies for human oligodendrocyte disorders such as leukodystrophies, multiple sclerosis, and white matter injury associated with premature birth. The lab takes two approaches to achieve this goal: 1) gaining fundamental knowledge in human oligodendrocyte development extracting data directly from human cells and tissues, and 2) engineering transplantable human oligodendrocytes by direct lineage conversion.