Souvarish Sarkar

Souvarish Sarkar, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Neuroscience (joint appointment) at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. His research focuses on understanding gene-environment interactions in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson's disease (PD), using Drosophila genetics, rodent models, and cell culture systems. He completed his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Iowa State University and postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School with Dr. Mel Feany.

Education:

• B.Tech. in Biotechnology, Heritage Institute of Technology, India (2013)
• Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology, Iowa State University (2018)

Research Interests:

Dr. Sarkar's work investigates how environmental toxicants (e.g., pesticides, metals) interact with genetic factors to drive neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Key areas include:

• Mechanisms of α-synuclein pathology and prion-like propagation
• Role of microglial ion channels and exosome signaling in PD
• Development of multiplex models to study gene-environment interactions
• Impact of mitochondrial dysfunction in neurotoxicity

Awards:

• NIH K99/R00 Career Transition Grant (2022)
• Young Investigator Award (2025)
• Multiple recognitions for research excellence in neurotoxicology (2017–2023)

Lab Activities:

His lab integrates molecular biology, proteomics, and in vivo models to study:

• Environmental manganese's role in PD pathogenesis
• Gene-environment interaction networks in neurodegeneration
• Development of novel therapeutic strategies targeting neuroinflammatory pathways

Collaborations:

Active partnerships with the Environmental Health Sciences Center and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at URMC.