# Neha Karlupia Research Associate ![Neha](/sites/g/files/omnuum7466/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/lichtman/files/image2_3_1_0_0_0.jpeg?itok=HpJ5Ybgc) email I am a neurobiologist, and my core scientific interest lies in understanding the physical basis of fundamental neuronal circuitry of the human brain and how it changes with experience, disease, and the process of aging. Studying the comprehensive analysis of the local synaptic circuit requires preservation of contiguous large volumes of the brain. For a long time, connectomics research was constrained by sample volumes smaller than 1 mm³. Part of my postdoctoral work involved developing a tissue preservation method that preserves the pristine ultrastructure of multi-millimeter cubes of human neurosurgical samples. This method makes it possible to examine the entire depth of the human cortex and reconstruct the complete dendritic arbor of its largest projection neurons. Our cognition depends on the synaptic connectivity and communication among diverse brain cells. Disruptions in these circuits underlie many incurable neurological and psychiatric disorders. Understanding the neuronal circuits in health is fundamental to identify how they change in disease. To address this, I have developed connectomics datasets from both normal and diseased human prefrontal cortices as well as rodent cingulate cortices. I am now analyzing their circuit organization to identify structural correlates of disorders such as profound autism, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s disease. Before my work at Harvard, I received my Ph.D. in Neurology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, India, was a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral and Professional Research Fellow at Stanford University and did my master's in biomedical sciences from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Sciences, Delhi University, India. - ## Appointment Type [Research Associate](/people-terms/research-associate)