Chandrika Rao

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!)

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...

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…

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...

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.

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...

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.

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

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.

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

@civia-aarhus.bsky.social oh no, sorry about that! Correct link here authors.elsevier.com/c/1knwq5Eb0R...

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...

Alzheimer’s research centers face Trump-imposed $65m funding delay across the US Researchers report difficulties retaining staff as White House cost-cutting stresses US medical research system

Excellent story in the Guardian about funds for Alzheimer's disease research centers being held up by the Federal Register-Advisory Council issue.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

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

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:

Graduate admissions being put on hold because of the chaos...

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.

Scientific institutions have a long history of anticipatory obedience Societies should learn from this and speak up to support inclusion

Excellent explainer by @philipcball.bsky.social on why now more than ever scientists need to resist the logic of "anticipatory obedience" www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/scie...

An essential, if not terrifying, thread summarising how US science has been brought to its knees in the space of just one week

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.”

@the-node.bsky.social do you have a current link please? Posted one doesn’t work!

Great example of transparency and useful guidance on peer review from @dev-journal.bsky.social

Welcome to the #devbiolwriteclub Bluesky Boot Camp! I’ll be posting here regularly with thoughts and exercises to help scientists become better writers. Let’s start by managing expectations: I will NOT help you write better. I WILL help you become a better writer. 🧵 1/10

Now more than ever the world should learn about the life and impact of @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social neuroscientist Ben Barres, the movie is underway! @atqmovie.bsky.social

Great post on using AI in academia! Use more effective prompts, get over “blank page syndrome”, and be prepared to iterate. Eager to try out some of the other use cases…

I enjoy to be totally enveloped by Elverum. New #mounteerie record release show in Brooklyn last night was the ideal world-wallowing show #ishouldbewriting

Interested to give this a go 🤔

This is a great, accessible read on the importance of studying sex differences in AD progression 🧪

@mancusorenzo.bsky.social thanks for starting! I’m working with iPSC-microglia + AD, pls could I be added :)

*Sobs in scientist on a Saturday night in mid-November*

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.

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

Thanks for starting! Pls could I be added too :)

Thank you! Pls could I get added :)

Couldn’t find a dedicated stem cell biology starter pack, so started one here: go.bsky.app/UTW4d7b

Feel free to repost/share and let me know if you would like to be added. #stemcell #pluripotency

Elverum is, indeed, excellent!