Lucas Cheadle

Lucas Cheadle is an Associate Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and a Cancer Center Member. Appointed as Assistant Professor in 2020 and promoted to Associate Professor in November 2024, he leads the Cheadle Lab focusing on neuro-immune mechanisms of brain development, plasticity, and function. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Freeman Hrabowski Scholar (2023), his work bridges neuroscience and immunology to understand how environmental experiences shape brain connectivity.

Dr. Cheadle's research interests center on how sensory experiences engage immune cells, particularly microglia, to shape neural circuit development and function. His lab investigates how impairments in neuro-immune communication contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer's disease. Using the mouse visual system as a model, his team employs cutting-edge approaches including two-photon live imaging, single-cell transcriptomics, and electrophysiology to study the molecular mechanisms through which environmental stimuli converge upon the microglial genome to shape neural circuits.

Analysis of Dr. Cheadle's recent publications reveals a strong focus on oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), microglial function, and synaptic plasticity. His work demonstrates how sensory experiences alter gene and protein expression in brain immune cells, allowing them to interact with neurons to strengthen, maintain, or eliminate synaptic connections. This research has significant implications for understanding both normal brain development and neurological disorders across the lifespan.

Scientific Awards:

• MIND Prize (2025) from The Pershing Square Foundation ($750,000)
• HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar (2023)
• NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2022)
• Rita Allen Scholar Award (2021)
• Klingenstein-Simons Neuroscience Fellowship (2021)
• McKnight Scholar Award (2021)
• Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education (2022)

Dr. Cheadle actively mentors students through CSHL's graduate program, teaching courses on visual system development. His lab emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a stated commitment that 'diverse teams do better science and are more productive.' The Cheadle Lab develops innovative tools and approaches to define contributions of immune cells to brain development and function, with parallel investigations into how inflammatory signals contribute to neurological disorders from autism to Alzheimer's disease. Their current MIND Prize-funded project explores oligodendrocyte precursor cells as potential therapeutic targets for maintaining synaptic integrity in Alzheimer's disease.