#  Brikha Shrestha 

Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery

 

 

 



   ![Brikha Shrestha](/sites/g/files/omnuum3501/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/dms/files/shrestha_brikha.jpg?itok=m3XTl5OK) 

 



 

 location\_on 243 Charles St Boston, MA 02114 

 email [brikha\_shrestha@hms.harvard.edu](mailto:brikha_shrestha@hms.harvard.edu) 

 laptop\_windows [Lab Website](https://shrestha.meei.harvard.edu) 

 laptop\_windows [Publications](https://shrestha.meei.harvard.edu/publications/) 

 

 



 

 Functional complexity of a neural circuit depends on features of its component neurons such as spiking characteristics, total number, synaptic structures, and connectivity. In addition to varying across the many nodes of a neural circuit, these neuronal properties can be heterogeneous even within a node and shape circuit computation.

 Our laboratory studies the regulatory logic underpinning neuronal heterogeneity in the mouse auditory system. A major current focus is on understanding how sensory neuron heterogeneity arises during development and contributes to robust stimulus encoding. To that end, we generate and employ tools for spatiotemporally precise genetic access of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), perturb transcription factor networks and signaling pathways in those neurons, measure and manipulate their activity using cutting-edge tools, and chart their transcriptomic and cis-regulatory profiles by single-cell genomics (scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, and multiomics). Our studies not only to seek to make fundamental discoveries related to normal hearing but are also relevant to understanding and treating hearing disorders.

 The biological processes and principles underlying development and function of heterogeneous neurons are themselves highly diverse. Stereotyped and variable, plastic and stable, deterministic and stochastic, resilient and vulnerable: all of these apply to neurons and neural circuits across myriad contexts. In some instances, the same neuron may embody these disparate properties over time. In others, subtypes of related neurons may have one or more of such contrasting features. These themes are woven through the fabric of our scientific inquiries as we leverage our collective expertise in neuroscience, genomics, and molecular genetics to shed light on the mechanisms underlying neural diversity.



 

 

 





 

 

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     [SHBT](/faculty/shbt)