DC 9: Kartik Jatwani
Kartik Jatwani (India) is joining as a doctoral researcher in the MSCA Mentor PhD program under the supervision of Dr. Christos Gkogkas at the Biomedical Research Institute of FORTH in Ioannina, Greece. His research will focus on understanding general and mRNA-specific translation downstream of mTOR signaling in human neurodevelopment. Kartik is deeply interested in the intersection of developmental biology and neurobiology, with a long-term goal of uncovering the molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopment to enable targeted therapeutic strategies.
He earned his Master’s degree in Regenerative Biology and Medicine from the Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering at Technical University of Dresden, Germany. He completed his thesis at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Natalia Rodríguez-Muela’s lab where he studied early neurodevelopmental defects in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) using patient-derived iPSC organoids and mouse embryos. Kartik was awarded a Gold Medal for his Bachelor’s in Biotechnology for academic excellence and his thesis on Itch-Notch interactions in muscle regeneration in Dr. Jyotsna Dhawan’s lab at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.
Kartik has worked in a range of projects, from characterization of complex retinal pathology in mouse to leading a startup for developing a bacterial biosensor. His multidisciplinary training spans molecular biology techniques, transcriptomic analysis, patient-derived iPSC-based organoid systems, and both in vitro and in vivo disease modeling.
Planned secondments: 3 months at Institut du Cerveau/Paris Brain Institutefor evaluating the involvement of new alleles in autistic spectra. 3 months at Topadur for testing the activity of putative mTOR inhibitors in organoids
Institut du Cerveau
3 monthsParis, France
Topadur
3 monthsSchlieren, Switzerland
My research project
One of the best ascribed functions of mTOR is regulation of protein synthesis, also termed translational control. mTOR exerts tight control on gene expression at the level of general translation, but also mRNA-specific translation by preferentially stimulating or inhibiting the synthesis of specific subsets of proteins. While mTOR-sensitive mRNAs have been identified in mature brain using mouse models, this analysis has not been performed during early development. Moreover, little is known about the role of mTOR in regulating protein synthesis in early human brain development. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain organoids have emerged as a powerful model to study early development, as they recapitulate >96% of human embryonic brain gene expression and cytoarchitecture to a large extent. To elucidate the role of mTOR in translational control during early human brain development, the doctoral candidate will use translational profiling to assess general (metabolic labelling) and mRNA-specific (ribosome profiling) in human brain organoids where mTOR is upregulated and downregulated genetically or pharmacologically. We will further use structural and sequence analysis for mTOR-sensitive mRNAs to identify common molecular features. Understanding mTOR-regulated mechanisms of translational control in early human brain development will also contribute to elucidate the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental mTORopathies, such as autism spectrum disorder.
PhD enrolment : 
DC 8: Vishrutha Prakash