Sneha Chaturvedi

Program: Neurosciences

Current advisor: Joseph D. Dougherty, PhD

Undergraduate university: Washington University, 2019

Enrollment year: 2020

Research summary
Investigating sex variation in early neurodevelopment and its impact on sex bias in neurological conditions

As part of the Dougherty lab, my work aims to elucidate the sex-specific mechanisms in neurodevelopment that influence later behavioral traits. By focusing on the role of sex hormones and metabolites in early CSF and brain tissue samples, I seek to understand how sex variation influences brain development and contributes to neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism. Specifically, the research will investigate the dynamics of hormonal surges before and after birth. Additionally, the study will profile CSF components to identify potential biomarkers predictive of future neurodevelopmental outcomes, and will examine gene expression patterns in the post-mortem hypothalamus to explore their correlation with the sex bias observed in autism diagnoses. The overarching goal is to construct a comprehensive model of molecular sex variation influencing behavioral traits and clinical outcomes.

Graduate publications
Fass SB, Mulvey B, Chase R, Yang W, Selmanovic D, Chaturvedi SM, Tycksen E, Weiss LA, Dougherty JD. 2024 Relationship between sex biases in gene expression and sex biases in autism and Alzheimer’s disease. Biol Sex Differ, 15(1):47. PMCID: PMC11157820