Abishek Arora

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the CSI:Nano Lab at the Department of Women's and Children's Health (KBH), Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab, Frisén Lab and Katajisto Lab, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, (CMB), Karolinska Institutet. I defended my PhD in Medical Science (Clinical Neuroscience) from the Tammimies Lab, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), KBH.

Before moving to KI, I received my Master of Science in Neuroscience (2016 – 2017) from the Department of Experimental Psychology and St Catherine's College, University of Oxford. I was awarded the Felix Scholarship to pursue my graduate studies at Oxford, specialising in neurodevelopment, motor systems, molecular neuroscience and clinical mental health.

In India, I completed my Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Medical Biotechnology (2012 – 2016) from the Centre for Medical Biotechnology – Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh. At Amity, I was awarded with a Gold Medal and Chancellor's Award in recognition of my academic and social welfare activities.

Positions of responsibility

• Member, WP2 Interdisciplinary Knowledge Creation, NeurotechEU (2024 – Present)
• Board of Governors Member, NeurotechEU (2022 – 2023)
• Co-Chair, NeurotechEU Student Council (2021 – 2022)
• Board Member, Doctoral Students' Association (2020 – 2021)
• Student Safety Ombudsperson, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet (2020 –2021)
• Union Council Member, Medicinska Föreningen (2020 – 2021)

Postdoctoral research experience

• Department of Women's and Children's Health (KBH), Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab, and Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (2024 – present)
• Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (2023 – 2024)

Education

• PhD in Medical Science (Clinical Neuroscience), Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (2019 – 2023)
• MSc in Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology and St Catherine's College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (2016 – 2017)
• BSc (Hons) in Medical Biotechnology, Centre of Medical Biotechnology, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, India (2012 – 2016)

Postdoctoral research (2024 – present)

Can lipids influence the behaviour of stem cells, such as their ability to replicate or differentiate? Can this knowledge have potential clinical applications in the future? As a postdoctoral researcher, I am working at the interface of membrane biophysics (CSI:Nano Lab), neurobiology (Frisén Lab) and stem cell biology (Katajisto Lab) while utilising advanced molecular techniques in relevant organoid models to investigate this.

Postdoctoral research (2023 – 2024)

As a postdoctoral researcher in particle toxicology at the Karlsson Lab, I evaluated the in-vitro effects of nanoparticles generated by the transportation sector, and contributed to the EU Horizon 2020 funded project, nPETS. The biological effects of such nanoparticles are not very well-defined and there is growing epidemiological evidence that such factors can contribute to a plethora of neurological conditions.

PhD research (2019 – 2023)

An understanding of how the brain develops in health and disease, is crucial for improving patient outcomes and well-being. Such insights can be applied for developing robust and cost-effective diagnostic and treatment strategies. As a PhD student in clinical neuroscience at the Tammimies Lab, I was interested in the molecular and clinical processes that underlie neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Deciphering complex gene-environment interactions using excretory metabolomics for ASD and ADHD, and a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived model of ASD were the key products of my research. For the latter, I am the first to develop an experimental approach to perform environmental factor exposures in human iPSC derived neuronal progenitors using a fractional factorial experimental design coupled with transcriptomics (Arora et al., 2023). Findings in this direction will be an essential starting point for precision clinical interventions.

My PhD thesis, "Genetic vulnerability, environmental exposures and neurodevelopmental disorders: clinical insights and in-vitro consequences", is accessible through the KI Open Archive.

MSc research (2016 - 2019)

As a research assistant in clinical neuroscience (2017 – 2018) for the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing (OPTIMA) and DeLuca Lab at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCN), University of Oxford, I investigated the clinical processes underpinning dementia.

During my graduate studies at Oxford, I developed a 3D printed, high-throughput system for the culture of cerebral organoids from human iPSCs at the 

Courses

• 4BI109 Bioinformatics, MSc Biomedicine (CMB, KI), Autumn 2024
• 1BI037 Cell-, Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, BSc Biomedicine (CMB, KI), Autumn 2024
• 4TX030 Application of Methods in Toxicological Research, MMedSc Toxicology (IMM. KI), Spring 2024
• 4BI109 Bioinformatics, MSc Biomedicine (CMB, KI), Autumn 2022
• 1BI037 Cell-, Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, BSc Biomedicine (CMB, KI), Autumn 2022
• 4BI109 Bioinformatics, MSc Biomedicine (CMB, KI), Autumn 2021

Lectures

• Basic Structure and Development – From Egg to Embryo, Medical Programme (CMB, KI), Spring 2021

Tutorial/small group teaching

• Genetics in Health and Disease, Medical Programme (CMB, KI), Spring 2020

Research/laboratory training

• Davið Örn Auðunsson (MMedSc Toxicology, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), Autumn 2023
• Mihai-Ovidiu Degeratu (MMedSc Toxicology, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), Autumn 2021 – Now PhD Student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
• Jenny Humphrey (Medical Programme, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), Autumn 2020 – Now Junior Resident at Region Stockholm
• İlayda Erakın (BSc Molecular Biology and Genetics, İzmir Institute of Technology, Turkey), Spring 2019 – Now RnD Specialist at Turklab Medical Devices
• Hala Habash (BSc Biomedicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden), Spring 2019 – Now PhD Student at Karolinska Institutet