Shekhar Lab
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Berkeley
Prof. Karthik Shekhar
PhD, MIT 2015
The overarching aim of our group is to study the organization and dynamics of neuronal systems at molecular and cellular scales. We pursue these goals using a combination of theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches. Our current efforts are organized in two broad directions. The first direction combines large-scale genomic measurements with data-driven statistical inference approaches to understand how diverse neuron types, the building blocks of the brain, develop and evolve. A central challenge in these studies is to account for the complex spatiotemporal organization of neuronal systems generated using instructions “hard-wired” in the genome, combined with refinement mechanisms that depend upon electrical activity. Moreover, these processes have greatly evolved over hundreds of millions of years to generate circuits that are adapted within diverse species based on their ecological context. By using cutting edge single-cell technologies to understand these processes, we also hope to uncover insights into the molecular and cellular vulnerabilities underlying neurological disease.
In the second direction, we use theory and simulation to understand the electrochemical and electromechanical processes during the initiation and propagation of electrical signaling in biological systems. Our goal is to develop microscopic models that uncover how electrical signals are generated and propagated at the nanoscale within cells, particularly at the interfaces of cellular lipid membranes. By addressing the limitations of current models relying on “equivalent circuit theories”, we will explore the electrical, mechanical, and chemical interactions occuring at the interfaces of biological membranes. This research will enhance fundamental knowledge that could lead to better treatments for a range of diseases such as epilepsy, neurodegeneration, cardiomyopathies, and channelopathies.
We are an interdisciplinary team comprised of engineers, physicists, and neuroscientists. Our research is curiosity-driven, and we strongly believe that the most important scientific questions require a confluence of ideas and methods from different fields. We have cultivated close collaborations with neurobiologists, vision scientists, molecular biologists, clinicians, and theorists.
Our primary home is the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE). On the Berkeley campus, we are also affiliated with the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Center for Computational Biology, Berkeley Vision Science, Berkeley Biophysics, and QB3. We are also part of the Biological Systems and Engineering division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL).
Updated: 12/18/2024 (1)
news
| Mar 19, 2024 | Building a brain: How does it generate its exquisite diversity of cells? A short perspective piece co-authored by Karthik with Tom Nowakowski (UCSF), appears in The Transmitter. |
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| Mar 18, 2024 | Our research is highlighted in an article by the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) |
| Feb 21, 2024 | Salwan (Sal) Butrus presents his research at the CBE colloquium. Congrats Sal! |
latest posts
| Jan 27, 2024 | a post with code diff |
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| Jan 27, 2024 | a post with advanced image components |
| Jan 27, 2024 | a post with vega lite |
selected publications
- Hydrophobic CDR3 residues promote the development of self-reactive T cellsNature immunology, 2016
