Columbia University in the City of New York · NeurosciencePhatnani Neurodegeneration Lab
Hemali Phatnani · New York, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Hemali Phatnani's lab at Columbia University Health Sciences focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases like Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). The lab investigates how protein aggregation—especially that of TDP-43—can lead to damage in nerve cells and contributes to these diseases. They aim to uncover the physical and molecular changes that predispose certain cells to disease and develop new treatment strategies that could improve patient outcomes.
neurodegenerationprotein aggregationALSfrontotemporal dementiacellular biologybiophysicsmolecular crowdingtherapeutic strategiesgenomics
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate what triggers the aggregation of TDP-43 proteins in sporadic ALS and FTD.
AIM 02Examine how cellular changes impact communication between cells in the brain.
AIM 03Identify the unique vulnerabilities of different cell types affected by ALS/FTD.
AIM 04Explore the relationship between molecular crowding and neurodegeneration.
AIM 05Develop a framework for potential therapeutic interventions based on findings.
Skills the Lab Values
cell cultureanimal modelsmolecular biology techniquesbiophysical probingspatial transcriptomicsproteomic analysisdata analysis using Pythonmicroscopyexperimental design
Output against the department
Publications123bottom 43% of dept.380th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations18ktop 24% of dept.158th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.