Urvashi Thopte, MS

I am a first year Tetrad student interested in developing and implementing functional genomic technologies to study gene expression and regulation, and its role in neurological disorders.

I grew up in Pune, India where I completed an undergrad and Master’s degree in Microbiology. During this time, I developed a strong interest in cutting edge genome technologies and utilizing them to study human diseases. So, I moved to New York in 2019 to pursue a Master’s in Biotechnology at Columbia University, where I worked in Dr. Brandon Pearsons lab studying the role of environmental exposures on development and the brain.

After that, I worked at the Seaver Autism Center at Mount Sinai with Dr. Matthew Lalli and Dr. Joseph Buxbaum developing and implementing high-throughput functional genomic technologies to identify convergent pathways dysregulated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons.

In my free time I love reading, yoga, working out, eating good food, board games, annoying my dog, and hanging out with my friends. My goals outside of the lab are to get a certification as a yoga instructor, try new things, and maybe finally become a good cook!