Roshan Jain

Roshan Jain is an Associate Professor of Biology at Haverford College, conducting interdisciplinary research on the genetic and neural basis of behavior using zebrafish models. His lab in Sharpless S108 integrates molecular genetics, neural circuit imaging, and behavioral analysis to investigate decision-making, learning, and memory mechanisms.

His educational background includes:

• B.S. in Biological Sciences, Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (2000)
• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Princeton University (2007)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine (2008-2015)

Dr. Jain's research focuses on how genes control behavior through complementary approaches: molecular genetics (e.g., CRISPR mutations in CaSR and ap2s1), neural circuit analysis (confocal imaging and optogenetics), and behavioral characterization (acoustic stimulus escape responses). His work on decision-making mutants has direct translational relevance for human cognitive disorders, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorder.

Mentoring students across molecular biology, neural circuits, and behavioral projects, Dr. Jain's lab provides comprehensive training in zebrafish husbandry, molecular cloning, confocal microscopy, and behavioral tracking. Students develop expertise in transgenic techniques, neural activity recording, and high-throughput assay development within a collaborative research environment.

The Jain Lab employs larval zebrafish (5-7 days old) to dissect behavioral circuits, with current emphasis on how disrupted genes alter decision-making biases. Ongoing work explores synaptic plasticity mechanisms through clathrin-mediated endocytosis and calcium sensing pathways, bridging fundamental genetic discoveries with neurological disease models.