Chandrika Rao
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chandrrrika.bsky.social
Chandrika Rao
@chandrrrika.bsky.social
890 followers 870 following 18 posts
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
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chandrrrika.bsky.social
Our review on human models of Alzheimer's just made the cover! Great to have the opportunity to highlight the exciting advances being made towards understanding microglia's crucial role in neurodegeneration 🔎 🧠 Read here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1knwq5Eb0R.... Cover image credit: Giulia Mezzadri
Journal cover of Trends in Immunology, Volume 46, Number 4, April 2025, ISSN 1471-4906. The cover features a striking design with a dark navy background and a triangular prism splitting light into a colorful spectrum below. The spectrum shows different immune cells illustrated in rainbow colors (red, yellow, green, blue, and purple bands) with microglial and immune cells visible throughout. First page of review article entitled "Decoding microglial functions in Alzheimer's disease: insights from human models". Authors: Chandrika Rao, Stefan Semrau, Valentina Fossati. Journal: Trends in Immunology. Abstract: Microglia, key orchestrators of the brain's immune responses, play a pivotal role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Emerging human models, including stem cell-derived microglia and cerebral organoids, are transforming our understanding of microglial contributions to AD pathology. In this review, we highlight how these models have uncovered human-specific microglial responses to amyloid plaques and their regulation of neuroinflammation, which are not recapitulated in animal models. We also illustrate how advanced human models that better mimic brain physiology and AD pathology are providing unprecedented insights into the multifaceted roles of microglia. These innovative approaches, combined with sophisticated technologies for cell editing and analysis, are shaping AD research and opening new avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting microglia. Circular diagram showing different human models for studying microglia in Alzheimer's disease. The center shows a microglial cell with increasing 'complexity' of human models as the central theme. The diagram is divided into colored segments representing different approaches: post-mortem brain (purple), iPSC-microglia (red), co-cultures (orange), 3D organoids (yellow), assembloids (green), organ-on-a-chip (blue), and chimeric mouse (pink). Each segment includes details on relevant research applications and methodology boxes, such as pathological characterization, gene editing, cell-cell interactions, and functional environments.
April 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM
chandrrrika.bsky.social
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 article Figure 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.
March 24, 2025 at 1:22 PM
chandrrrika.bsky.social
I enjoy to be totally enveloped by Elverum. New #mounteerie record release show in Brooklyn last night was the ideal world-wallowing show #ishouldbewriting
November 20, 2024 at 11:29 PM
chandrrrika.bsky.social
Excited to share that our lab’s paper is the cover story for the Nov issue of Cell Stem Cell, featured alongside a study from Ionescu, Nicaise et al.! 🌟 We show how iPSC-derived astrocytes and oligodendrocytes reveal glial-intrinsic immune phenotypes in MS #glia #stemcells 🧪 tinyurl.com/msglia
The image shows a scientist holding a petri dish with a neuron showing deteriorated myelin, symbolizing MS, while stem cells float around, highlighting their critical role in potential therapies. Cover art by DrawImpacts.
November 14, 2024 at 1:31 PM