Dr. Janko Gospocic is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry with a secondary appointment at Green Center for Reproductive Biology. He grew up in Croatia and received a M.S in Molecular Biology at University of Zagreb. He then received a Ph.D in Developmental Biology and Genetics at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) under mentorship of Prof. Nadia Rosenthal. Dr. Gospocic then conducted his postdoctoral training in the Epigenetics Institute and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine in the lab of Dr. Roberto Bonasio.

The Gospocic group studies how epigenetic pathways and gene expression regulate brain plasticity in the context of social behavior and ageing. The work in our lab will address two major questions related to epigenetic regulation in the social brain: First, how do social interactions (social bonding, aggression and social defeat) induce epigenetic changes and long-lasting behavioral phenotypes? Second, what is the role of heterochromatin and DNA methylation in premature ageing and rejuvenation in social contexts? For this purpose, the lab studies a unique ant species Harpegnathos saltator in which adult worker can transition into a queen, resulting in drastic physiological and behavioral changes within a very short time span. This represents one of the most impressive examples of organismal plasticity and makes H. saltator an unparalleled, yet largely unexplored epigenetic model. We take a multidisciplinary approach and combine functional genomics, biochemistry, and behavioral assays in H. saltator, as well as the conventional models Drosophila and mouse to expedite genetic screening and provide evolutionary context to identified epigenetic pathways.