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Chandrika Rao

@chandrrrika.bsky.social

Stem cell biologist using iPSCs to model neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. Staff Scientist/Postdoc @NYSCF, PhD @EdinburghUni, RA @CambridgeUni, MSc/BSc @BristolUni. she/her

18 Posts933 Follower882 Folgt
preLights@prelights.bsky.social · 3w ago

When a neuron’s waste is too big to carry home, microglia pinch it off from the outside – in a process called skoupocytosis, from the Greek for garbage. @chandrrrika.bsky.social covers a #preprint from Renee Pepper et al. @watanabelab.bsky.social #preLight⬇️ prelights.biologists.com/highlights/m...

Microglia extract neuronal proteolytic organelles via skoupocytosis - preLights

When a neuron’s waste is too big to carry home, microglia pinch it off from the outside – in a process called skoupocytosis, from the Greek for garbage.

prelights.biologists.com

John Greally@greally.bsky.social · 11mo ago

This garbage is what we’re up against. I have seen multiple families who have received ‘stem cell therapy’ for their child with autism and intellectual disability. Not well-off families, probably spending 5-figure sums. These bottom-feeding influencer scum are preying on the desperate.

Eric Topol@erictopol.bsky.social · 11mo ago

How stem cell treatments, without evidence of benefit but with risk of harm, are promoted at YouTube by celebrities and influencers cell.com/stem-cell-re...

Celeste Labedz@celestelabedz.bsky.social · 12mo ago

In case anyone is wondering if Watson was really THAT bad, @lpachter.bsky.social compiled a list of quotes that are absolutely not for the faint of heart. liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...

James Watson in his own words

“Some anti-Semitism is justified” “Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you’re not going to hire them” “Japan should be bombed for d…

liorpachter.wordpress.com

Terry McGlynn@hormiga.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...

Mark Peifer (He, him)@peiferlabunc.bsky.social · last yr.

Fascinating thread about the identification of one of the first genes with a clear role in human speech and language! Extra credit for those who dig in to find out why its called a "forkhead domain" 🧪

Simon Fisher@profsimonfisher.bsky.social · last yr.

Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350.... A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n 🗣️🧬🧪

Image shows the first two printed pages of the paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” by Cecilia Lai and colleagues, published in Nature in 2001 (volume 413, pages 519-523). The abstract reads as follows: Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7. We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.
Sten Linnarsson@sten.linnarsson.org · last yr.

A major KI initiative to recruit new assistant professors with outstanding proposals in all areas of medicine, biomedicine and public health. We offer an amazing research environment, great colleagues and generous startup packages. Check it out and get working on your applications! (repost please!)

Karolinska Institutet@ki.se · last yr.

Applications are now open! We are recruiting 20 Assistant Professors in a wide range of subject areas. We're looking for early-career researchers with strong scientific merits and future potential. 🔗 All positions: ki.se/en/about-ki/...

Selina Wray@selinawray.bsky.social · last yr.

A nice read and ICYMI here is our cited paper from the end of last year on the microglia contribution to Familial British Dementia: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Microglia contribute to the production of the amyloidogenic ABri peptide in familial British dementia - Acta Neuropathologica

Mutations in ITM2B cause familial British, Danish, Chinese, and Korean dementias. In familial British dementia (FBD), a mutation in the stop codon of the ITM2B gene (also known as BRI2) causes a C-ter...

link.springer.com

Molecular Neurodegeneration@molneurodegen.bsky.social · last yr.

'Evidence suggesting that #microglia make #amyloid from neuronally expressed APP: a hypothesis' John Hardy & Patrick Lewis molecularneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

@alexlish.bsky.social · last yr.

Thrilled to share my first first-author paper is out @cp-neuron.bsky.social! We show that Alzheimer's disease protective CLU alleles upregulate CLU in response to neuropathology, dampening inflammatory signaling between microglia and astrocytes. Read here www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

CLU alleviates Alzheimer’s disease-relevant processes by modulating astrocyte reactivity and microglia-dependent synaptic density

Genetic studies implicate clusterin (CLU) in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), yet its precise molecular impact remains unclear. Through u…

sciencedirect.com

Alice Callahan@alicecallahan.bsky.social · 2y ago

My story about @kevinh-phd.bsky.social, nutrition and metabolism scientist at N.I.H., who felt compelled to take early retirement after experiencing censorship of his work under the new administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/w...

Leading Nutrition Scientist Departs N.I.H., Citing Censorship (Gift Article)

Kevin Hall said his work on ultraprocessed foods has been “hobbled” under the Trump administration. Scientists have been raising such concerns for months.

nytimes.com

@cmn-vib.bsky.social · 2y ago

Brand new review by the @mancusorenzo.bsky.social lab on microglial heterogeneity: Laura Fumagalli et al. dive into transcriptional states across development, disease, sex & CNS regions—plus annotation tools. Out now in Nature Neuroscience: 📄 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-01931-4

Microglia heterogeneity, modeling and cell-state annotation in development and neurodegeneration - Nature Neuroscience

Microglia have key roles in CNS development and neurodegeneration. Here, the authors provide an overview of microglia heterogeneity, cell-state annotation and model systems.

nature.com

Chandrika Rao@chandrrrika.bsky.social · 2y ago

Very pleased to share our new review on human models of Alzheimer’s disease, and what they reveal about the role of microglia in neurodegeneration. At such a time, it was a great pleasure to celebrate the outstanding science emerging in this field 🙌🏽 authors.elsevier.com/c/1knwq5Eb0R...

First page of review articleFigure 1. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived human models of increasing complexity complement animal models and human postmortem tissue studies to elucidate the roles of microglia in AD. These models range from reductionist systems, such as iPSC-microglia in monocultures, to more complex 3D organoids/assembloids integrated into mouse brains or organ-on-chip systems. Each approach offers distinct advantages for dissecting molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in AD. Integrating these models with advanced technologies such as gene editing and single-cell resolution analyses may enable the discovery of novel microglia-specific therapeutic targets.
Stefan Semrau@semrau.bsky.social · 2y ago

Happy to share that our latest review is now available online. We discuss how human model systems can be used to study the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s. Excellent work by @chandrrrika.bsky.social from my colleague Valentina Fossati’s lab here at the New York Stem Cell Foundation. #AD #microglia

BWJones@bwjones.bsky.social · 2y ago

By @katherinejwu.com "The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,” The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:

Inside the Collapse at NIH

Administration officials pressured NIH to avoid clear advice from the agency’s own lawyers to restart grant funding now.

theatlantic.com

BWJones@bwjones.bsky.social · 2y ago

This is important. @avaskham.bsky.social is doing critical work here reporting details in @thetransmitter.bsky.social that I’ve seen nowhere else in reporting on the NIH / NSF funding crisis.

The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 2y ago

A large portion of grants awarded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health cannot be funded for the foreseeable future because of an indefinite hold on submissions to the Federal Register, according to an email reviewed by The Transmitter. By @avaskham.bsky.social bit.ly/3X8ngz8

Chandrika Rao@chandrrrika.bsky.social · 2y ago

V useful tips for new PIs and beyond. Should be mandatory reading for research group leaders at all stages! “A positive research environment is one where team members are empowered, recognised, have a clear career developmental pathway, and can contribute to impactful and reproducible research.”

Adrian Liston@labliston.bsky.social · 2y ago

Our paper on nurturing a #PositiveResearchCulture within your #research #team published by @wellcometrust.bsky.social gives useful tips for your lab. As well as making you a good team leader, nurturing culture pays off in building your science: 1/11 wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/9-3...