Amar Sahay

Amar Sahay is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, serving as Principal Faculty at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Associate Member of the Broad Institute. His research is conducted at the Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he directs the Sahay Lab focused on hippocampal circuit mechanisms underlying cognition and memory disorders.

Dr. Sahay's work centers on re-engineering memory circuits to reverse cognitive impairments in Alzheimer's Disease, aging, and neurodevelopmental disorders. His lab investigates molecular and circuit plasticity mechanisms in the hippocampus, with emphasis on adult neurogenesis and inhibitory microcircuits. Key research thrusts include:

• Rejuvenating hippocampal circuitry through adult-born neurons
• Reconfiguring GABAergic inhibition to enhance social memory
• Restoring inhibitory circuit plasticity in neurodevelopmental disorders
• Developing circuit-based interventions for cognitive decline

Analysis of his 2020-2025 publications reveals dominant themes in hippocampal-cortical communication, memory consolidation mechanisms, and translational applications for cognitive disorders. His work spans molecular neuroscience (e.g., secretory phospholipases in aging), circuit-level interventions (e.g., hippocampus-septum-hypothalamus feeding circuits), and stem cell-based approaches, consistently targeting inhibitory circuit modulation to improve memory precision.

As head of the Sahay Lab, he leads a multidisciplinary team employing mouse genetics, optogenetics, in vivo imaging, and electrophysiology. His research receives substantial funding from NIH and Harvard-affiliated institutes, supporting investigations into neural circuit mechanisms of cognition and memory disorders. The lab maintains strong collaborations across Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute.

The Sahay Lab operates within the Harvard Stem Cell Institute's Center for Regenerative Medicine (CPZN-Room 4242, 185 Cambridge St, Boston), leveraging resources from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute to bridge basic neuroscience with therapeutic applications for cognitive disorders.