Regular biography
Sharad Ramanathan is a Lecturer in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology at Harvard University. His research focuses on understanding how multi-potent human cells make developmental decisions and how the nervous system processes environmental signals to determine animal behavior. His laboratory investigates the mechanisms by which signaling pathways and gene regulatory networks evolve to produce novel cell types and how these processes can be re-engineered to pattern and build complex tissues. The Ramanathan Lab also explores the nervous system of the nematode C. elegans to identify key nodes in neural networks and manipulate neural activity to control behavior. His work integrates developmental, molecular, computational, and neuro-biological approaches.