Anant Jain
Assistant Professor, CHINTA
Anant is a trained neurophysiologist with over ten years of experience of studying biochemical signaling underlying diverse synaptic and neuronal functions. He got his bachelor’s degree in 2012 in Genetic Engineering from SRM University, Chennai. His neuroscience research journey began during the final undergraduate year when he was selected for a Semester Abroad Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He worked with Dr. Anna Krichevsky, to understand the role of microRNAs in regulating tumorigenesis capacity of brain tumors. To gain further neuroscience experience, he did a year of research work in Dr. Erik De Schutter’s lab at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan. At OIST, he developed computational models to understand the molecular signaling underlying synaptic plasticity mechanisms in the cerebellum. Following his experience in Japan, he pursued his PhD in Neuroscience at Northwestern University, Chicago where he worked under the guidance of Dr. Catherine Woolley and investigated mechanisms of acute estrogen-induced neuromodulation in the hippocampus. After completing his PhD in 2019, he joined Dr. Ryohei Yasuda’s laboratory at the Max Planck Florida Institute of Neuroscience (MPFI) for a postdoctoral fellowship. At MPFI, he developed novel CaMKII biosensors and investigated the role of CaMKII in a novel form of plasticity underlying place cell formation using FRET biosensors.
Anant joined CHINTA in November 2023. Anant’s lab will understand the molecular signaling underlying homeostatic plasticity that gets activated to compensate for the behaviorally relevant synaptic changes. Moreover, his lab will address how these homeostatic mechanisms get disrupted during neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism. To address these research questions, Anant will combine molecular biology, optogenetics, synaptic electrophysiology and two-photon fluorescent lifetime imaging (2p-FLIM) of FRET protein biosensors.