Biosketch

Dr. Sergiu P. Pașca is the Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and the Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Director of the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program. He is a faculty member of Stanford Bio-X, the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, and Stanford ChEM-H.

Originally from Romania, Dr. Pașca earned his M.D. from the Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca before moving to Stanford for postdoctoral training, where he established his independent laboratory. His pioneering work has introduced the concepts of neural spheroids and assembloids—three-dimensional stem cell–derived models that replicate key aspects of human brain development and function. These systems have opened new avenues for understanding the mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders and for developing therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Pașca’s scientific contributions have been widely recognized. His honors include the 2024 Eva King Killam Research Award (2024),  the Schaller Prize in Neuroscience (2024), the 2024 ISSCR Momentum Award, the IBRO-Kemali International Prize for Research in the Field of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences (2022), and election as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (2023). He has also been awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by his alma mater and was named a Knight of the Order of Merit of Romania.

Relevant links

https://profiles.stanford.edu/sergiu-pasca

https://med.stanford.edu/pascalab.html 

Key sample publications

Onesto MM, Amin ND, Pan C, Chen X, Kim JI, Reis N, Kanton S, Valencia AM, Hudacova Z, McQueen JP, Tessier-Lavigne M, Pașca SP. Midline assembloids revealregulators of human axon guidance. Science. 2025 Jul 17;389(6757):282-289. doi: 10.1126/science.adq7934. Epub 2025 Jul 17. PMID: 40674484.

Kim JI, Imaizumi K, Jurjuț O, Kelley KW, Wang D, Thete MV, Hudacova Z, Amin ND, Levy RJ, Scherrer G, Pașca SP. Human assembloid model of the ascending neural sensory pathway. Nature. 2025 Jun;642(8066):143-153. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08808-3. Epub 2025 Apr 9. PMID: 40205039; PMCID: PMC12137141.

Chen X, Birey F, Li MY, Revah O, Levy R, Thete MV, Reis N, Kaganovsky K, Onesto M, Sakai N, Hudacova Z, Hao J, Meng X, Nishino S, Huguenard J, Pașca SP. Antisense oligonucleotide therapeutic approach for Timothy syndrome. Nature. 2024 Apr;628(8009):818-825. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07310-6. Epub 2024 Apr 24. PMID: 38658687; PMCID: PMC11043036.

Meng X, Yao D, Imaizumi K, Chen X, Kelley KW, Reis N, Thete MV, Arjun McKinney A, Kulkarni S, Panagiotakos G, Bassik MC, Pașca SP. Assembloid CRISPR screens reveal impact of disease genes in human neurodevelopment. Nature. 2023 Oct;622(7982):359-366. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06564-w. Epub 2023 Sep 27. PMID: 37758944; PMCID: PMC10567561.

Revah O, Gore F, Kelley KW, Andersen J, Sakai N, Chen X, Li MY, Birey F, Yang X, Saw NL, Baker SW, Amin ND, Kulkarni S, Mudipalli R, Cui B, Nishino S, Grant GA, Knowles JK, Shamloo M, Huguenard JR, Deisseroth K, Pașca SP. Maturation and circuit integration of transplanted human cortical organoids. Nature. 2022Oct;610(7931):319-326. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05277-w. Epub 2022 Oct 12. PMID:36224417; PMCID: PMC9556304.