Posts by Rakesh Karmacharya, MD, PhD
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Interleukin-6 and Interferon-y Show Different Deleterious Effects in Human Stem Cell-Based Model of Neurodevelopment
Fetal exposure to interleukin-6 and interferon-y influences the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders through different mechanisms, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers found in a human model. In vitro treatment with folic acid early in neuron development mitigated the threat.
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Stem Cell "Mini-Brains" Useful for Studying the Biology of Bipolar Disorder
Three-dimensional cellular models of the dorsal forebrain, generated from induced pluripotent stem cells, facilitated exploration of the neurobiology of bipolar disorder.
Biography
Dr. Rakesh Karmacharya is an assistant professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of Stem Cell Research of the Center for Experimental Drugs and Diagnostics. He is also a physician-scientist in the Chemical Biology Program at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and the Medical Director of the Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Research Clinic at McLean Hospital.
Dr. Karmacharya received an AB in Biochemistry from Harvard University, an MS in Molecular Biophysics from Yale University and an MD and a PhD in Biophysics from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. His graduate studies focused on theoretical studies of the quantum mechanics of proton tunneling in condensed phase. He completed an internship in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a residency in psychiatry at Mass General and McLean Hospital. He served as the Chief Resident of the Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Program. After his residency, he undertook postdoctoral studies in chemical biology under the mentorship of Prof. Stuart L. Schreiber. Â
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