Debkanya Datta

I have generated a novel subset of endothelial cells that reside in human forebrain, using the induced pluropotent stem cell (iPSC) based technology. My research focuses on utilizing these cells to develop an innovative cell transplantation method for effective treatment of interneuron-related disorders.

I developed a stem cell-based model for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to identify cellular abnormalities associated with ADHD. I derived neural cells from skin cells of four pairs of ADHD- and healthy subjects, using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. Comparative analyses of ADHD- and control cells, using high throughput cell-based assays, revealed mitochondrial defects in ADHD cells. My research required me to successfully collaborate with a cross-functional team of psychiatrists, electrophysiologist and physicians at McLean Hospital.

I studied the epigenetic phenomenon of allele-specific replication in human embryonic stem cells. For this purpose, i successully established human embryonic stem cell culture in the laboratory. I showed that allele-specific replication for X-linked genes and a set of autosomal genes (belonging to immune system- and olfactory receptor- family) exists in human embryonic stem cells. This study established that epigenetic mechanism(s) distinguishing between sequence-identical DNA sequences are already established by pre-implantation stage in human development, and offers human embryonic stem cells as a tool for mechanistic study of this phenomenon.

My graduate research, with Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, focused on molecular mechanisms that control cell fate choice and differentiation during muscle development, using Drosophila as the model system.