Suvimal Kumar Sindhu, PhD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Suvimal Kumar Sindhu is a developmental neurobiologist whose research focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms that govern brain development, evolution, and neurodevelopmental disorders. His work integrates developmental genetics, genomics, comparative neurobiology, and disease modeling to uncover how neural circuits are specified during development and how their disruption leads to neurological disease.

Dr. Sindhu received his Ph.D. in Developmental Neurobiology from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and subsequently completed postdoctoral and research scientist training in the laboratory of Nenad Sestan at the Yale University. He later joined the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, where he expanded his research on corticospinal tract development, comparative neurobiology, and human brain evolution.

His research program combines mouse, chicken, and human in vivo models with single-cell genomics, CRISPR-based genetic engineering, viral gene delivery. The laboratory investigates three major themes: (i) genetic mechanisms underlying brain development and neural circuit formation, (ii) evolutionary diversification of neuronal cell types and connectivity across vertebrates, and (iii) molecular causes and therapeutic interventions for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Sindhu's work has contributed to understanding the genetic programs controlling cortical projection neuron identity, corticospinal tract formation, cerebellar evolution, and forebrain development. His studies have been published in leading journals and have provided insights into both conserved and species-specific mechanisms of brain development. 

As Principal Investigator, Dr. Sindhu aims to build an interdisciplinary research program that bridges computational approaches, developmental neurobiology, evolutionary neuroscience, and human disease genetics to uncover fundamental principles of brain organization and develop strategies for treating neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research Interests:

• Brain Development and Neural Circuit Formation

• Evolution of the Vertebrate Brain

• Cortical Projection Neurons and Axon Guidance

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Gene Therapy and Functional Genomics