Aritra Bhattacherjee, PhD
Assistant Professor
We study transciptional and epigenetic bases of susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. The lab is broadly interested in understanding the molecular underpinnings of maladaptive behavioral changes at single neuron resolution. Long-term changes in behavior require transcriptional and epigenetic adaptations in key neuronal populations of the regulatory circuits. But these molecular adaptations have been difficult to track owing to the progound cellular heterogeneity amongst neurons, even within the same brain regions. We use single cell omics to determine the identity and molecular changes in key neuronal subtypes associated with specific behavioral abnormalities, use transgenic mouse models to precisely map the circuits of those neurons and manipulate (and record) the activity of teh circuit to mitigate the behavioral dysfunction. Powered by these cutting-edge approaches, we can now pursue long-standing questions of high priority, like: Why are some individuals more susceptible to certain psychiatric disorders or drug addiction than others? Does adverse experience or exposure, as early as in mother’s womb, shape such susceptibilities? Are there biomarkers that can pre-inform emergence of mental health crises? Can we selectively target specific neurons to treat a mental disorder or drug addiction without impacting other brain functions?
