Hi, welcome to my research page! My name is
Arun Chakravorty
I study how cells coordinate across space and time to build tissues, and what happens when that order is lost.
I am drawn to how cells work together to build a tissue. For my PhD in the Cai Lab at Caltech, I asked whether the spatial arrangement of cells could tell us about their temporal dynamics. Using spatial transcriptomics (seqFISH+), we found we could reconstruct the full course of germ-cell development from a single snapshot of the testis. After seeing that Sertoli cells, a type of support cell, are synchronized with germ-cell development, we studied models without any germ cells. There, we discovered that Sertoli cells have their own intrinsic transcriptional clock. It keeps developing cells in sync and seems to create the tissue's fundamental architecture (Cell, 2026).
That work left me with a question I keep coming back to: how cells coordinate at a systems level to build structure, and how that structure gives rise to tissue-level function. In otolaryngology, that question feels very human. A few millimeters can decide whether someone hears, speaks, or swallows. I hope to work there as a surgeon-scientist and, one day, help give patients back the function they've lost.
If you're interested in collaborating, I'd love to hear from you!
Fun fact: switch to dark mode, and the background becomes raw imaging data of RNA dots from a small slice of tissue.
Basic SciencePublications
Six entriesBridging Space and Time: Resolving the Temporal Dynamics of the Seminiferous Epithelial Cycle Using Spatial Transcriptomics
An internal expectation guides Drosophila egg-laying decisions
Standardization of functional reporter and antibiotic resistance cassettes to facilitate the genetic engineering of filamentous fungi
An arsenic-specific biosensor with genetically engineered Shewanella oneidensis in a bioelectrochemical system
ClinicalPublications
Three entriesWhole Genome Sequencing of Archival Human Temporal Bones – Identification and Characterization of DFNA17
Efficacy and Predictors of Response to Biologic Therapy and Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Patients With Nasal Polyps: A Systematic Review
Trends in use and comparison of stereotactic body radiation therapy, brachytherapy, and dose-escalated external beam radiation therapy for the management of localized, intermediate-risk prostate cancer