Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D.
“My lab has always been interested in the rules that guide how the brain is constructed, and how, when those rules are broken, people develop autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and other behavioral disorders.”
Understanding how the brain gets built
How does brain development connect to behavior and disability?
The LaMantia Lab’s work focuses on how neural circuits in the brain develop for distinct human behaviors. In addition, his lab studies how neural stem cells develop into specific cell types in the embryonic as well as adult nervous system. His work has illuminated the earliest causes of multiple profound developmental disorders in children, including research into a complex disorder of brain, heart, and facial developmental disabilities.
LaMantia has explored how nerve fibers called axons develop to connect the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, creating new methods to observe neural circuits in living systems in the process. He also helped develop some of the earliest techniques for imaging living nerve cells as they make their connections in the developing brain over time.
The laboratory addresses these issues via genetic, molecular and cell biological analyses as well as assessments of neural circuit function and related behaviors. One essential aspect Dr. LaMantia's work integrates genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying neural development with those for cardiovascular and craniofacial development—the coordinated construction of brains, hearts, and faces.
LaMantia's goal is to use insights into basic development and genetics to address the causes and help develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for the broad range of developmental disorders that compromise the brain as well as other organ systems. These disorders result in a lifetime of health challenges for the affected infants and children, as well as for their families and caregivers.
- Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Director, Center for Neurobiology Research
- Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
- Professor, Department of Pediatrics, VTC School of Medicine
Yitsege G, Stokes BA, Sabatino JA, et al. Variations in maternal vitamin A intake modifies phenotypes in a mouse model of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome [published online ahead of print, 2020 May 20]. Birth Defects Res. 2020;10.1002/bdr2.1709. doi:10.1002/bdr2.1709
Maynard TM, Horvath A, Bernot JP, et al. Transcriptional dysregulation in developing trigeminal sensory neurons in the LgDel mouse model of DiGeorge 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Hum Mol Genet. 2020;29(9):1580. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddaa067
Maynard TM, Zohn IE, Moody SA, LaMantia AS. Suckling, Feeding, and Swallowing: Behaviors, Circuits, and Targets for Neurodevelopmental Pathology [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 26]. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2020;10.1146/annurev-neuro-100419-100636. doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-100419-100636
- George Washington University School of Medicine
Professor, Anatomy and Cell Biology - GW Institute for Biomedical Science PhD. Program in Neuroscience
Director - George Washington University School of Medicine
Professor, Pharmacology and Physiology
- Washington University: Postdoctoral fellowship
- Yale University: Ph.D., Neuroscience
- University of Chicago: B.A., Biology
- Distinguished Research Award, GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2015
- Finalist, NIH Pioneer Award Competition, May 2012 (1/23 finalists from 500+ applicants)
- Reynolds Faculty Research Fellowship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2007-2008.
- Nicholson Investigator, National Alliance for Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders: 2005-2006
- Wodecroft Investigator, National Alliance for Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders: 2000-2001
- Grass Foundation Traveling Lecture, Medical College of Georgia, January 2000
- C.J. Herrick Young Investigator Award, American Association of Anatomists, 1994
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow, 1992 – 1994
- National Down Syndrome Society Science Scholar Award, 1991 – 1993
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Brain researchers find detour around genetic roadblock , article Date: Jul 27, 2026 -
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Article ItemVirginia’s leading research universities unite to advance biomedical innovation , article
The next generation of medicine won’t be built around treating disease after it appears. It will be built around understanding precisely how disease develops — and predicting its course to enable precise interventions before it becomes irreversible.
Date: Jun 30, 2026 - -
Article ItemNeuroscientist Anthony-Samuel LaMantia to deliver Hylton Lecture on building the human brain , article
Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, a leading neuroscientist with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, will deliver a public lecture at Roanoke College this week exploring how the human brain is built and what happens when that process goes awry.
Date: Mar 30, 2026 - -
Article ItemBrain School: An inside look at how our genes contribute to healthy brain development and what can go wrong , article
The public is invited to explore the body’s most complex organ on March 9 at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Feb 27, 2026 - -
Article ItemEnrichment program opens eyes of high school students to medical careers , article
The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine's MedDOCS program brings together high school students from different races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds with one thing in common: an interest in science and medicine.
Date: May 31, 2024 - -
Article ItemRare Disease Day brings worldwide attention to more than 7,000 rare diseases , article
Virginia Tech research into rare diseases — those that individually affect 200,000 or fewer but collectively touch 1 in 10 people in the U.S. — provides hope in identifying, treating, and supporting patients.
Date: Feb 28, 2024 - -
Article ItemA challenge of rare disease: Roanoke woman went undiagnosed for nearly seven decades , article
Susan Wallace, who thrived in the face of many struggles, was in her late 60s when she was diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome. Then her brother learned research into the rare genetic disorder was taking place within walking distance of his home.
Date: Feb 26, 2024 - -
Article ItemVirginia Tech scientist identifies narrow opportunity to address a disease connected with autism, schizophrenia , article
A National Institutes of Health grant will allow a team led by Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, to further his 20-year deep dive into DiGeorge syndrome, a genetic disorder that is usually diagnosed too late for treatment.
Date: Mar 31, 2023 -
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