Krishanu Saha, PhD
Position title: Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, and MERI/RRF Kathryn & Latimer Murfee Chair
Email: ksaha@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 316-4313
Address:
330 N. Orchard St.
Madison, WI 53562
Education
BS 2001, Chemical Engineering/Chemistry, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
MPhil 2002, Biological Sciences (Biotechnology), University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
PhD 2007, Chemical Engineering (Neuroscience minor), University of California, Berkley, California
Postdoctoral Research 2012, Stem Cell Biology (Cellular Reprogramming and Biomaterials), Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research/MIT, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Research
Krishanu Saha’s research vision is to develop new human stem cell models and therapies using novel biomaterials and genetic engineering techniques. His technical background is both experimental and computational. In his doctoral work at University of California-Berkely, he focused on both theoretical and experimental studies of how stem and progenitor cells make cell fate decisions when faced with many concurrent molecular signals. During his postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead/MIT, he melded engineering skills with mammalian developmental biology in Rudolf Jaenisch’s laboratory. He was able to quantitatively characterize a new technique of cell ‘reprogramming’ and use these insights to help generate new human embryonic-like stem cells with novel properties. He gained significant experience in genetic modification of both mouse and human pluripotent stem cells. In addition, in collaboration with Professors Dan Anderson and Robert Langer, Saha generated novel polymers and biointerfaces for human pluripotent stem cell culture. Together, these advances have given him considerable experience with human cell manipulation. He has built on this foundation to generate several gene-edited human reporter lines in patient-specific reprogrammed cells in his lab.
Dr. Saha is also a core member of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, where he interacts with other McPherson ERI colleagues to share new scientific data, ideas, and experimental tools. Using synergy among the Stem Cell Center, Engineering and the Eye Institute, their work will develop advanced methods to produce a spectrum of gene-edited mice and cells from human pluripotent stem cells to understand retinal disease pathophysiology.
Publications
PubMed Listing of Publications
Saha Lab Team with Multiple Links to Listings of Publications