Santanu Banerjee

Santanu Banerjee serves as an Associate Professor in the Biological Sciences Department at State University of New York at Cortland, where he maintains his office in Bowers Hall, Room 1321 and laboratory in Room 1320. His academic journey began with BS and MS degrees from University of Calcutta, India, followed by a PhD from NCBS-TIFR, India. After completing postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, he served as a Research Assistant Professor at Syracuse University before joining SUNY Cortland.

• BS and MS: University of Calcutta, India
• PhD: NCBS-TIFR, India
• Postdoctoral Research Associate: University of Pennsylvania
• Research Assistant Professor: Syracuse University

Dr. Banerjee's research program focuses on understanding how the Central Nervous System (CNS) forms and functions, with particular emphasis on neuronal development and connectivity. His laboratory employs zebrafish as a model organism to investigate how different types of neurons form during early development and establish connections with other neurons and non-neuronal targets such as body muscles. This work has significant implications for understanding nervous system repair following spinal cord injury or in diseases affecting the CNS. His research integrates developmental biology, genetics, and neuroscience to unravel fundamental mechanisms of neural circuit formation.

Dr. Banerjee's scholarly output demonstrates consistent productivity with publications spanning from 2011 to 2024, reflecting an active research program with evolving focus on transcriptional regulation in spinal cord development, neural crest cell migration, and zebrafish gene function. His recent work has increasingly focused on transcriptional regulators in zebrafish spinal cord development, with multiple 2023-2024 publications examining gene expression patterns and regulatory networks.

As an educator, Dr. Banerjee teaches core courses including Genetics, Cell Biology, and Neurobiology, bringing his research expertise directly into the classroom. His laboratory in Bowers Hall, Room 1320 serves as the primary research space for his investigations into neural development using zebrafish models, providing hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate and potentially graduate students interested in developmental neuroscience.