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Parul Varma
Assistant Professor
Biology

Parul Varma

Contact Info

513-529-3105
Pearson Hall 244

Education

  • Ph.D., Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India

Biographical Information

Parul Varma, Ph.D., is a neurobiologist who uses human stem cell models and single-cell genomics to investigate how disease-causing genetic mutations disrupt brain development in rare neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research Interests

The human brain is built through a remarkably coordinated series of events in which cells must acquire the correct identity, migrate to the right location, form appropriate connections, and ultimately communicate as functional neuronal networks. Even a change in a single gene can disrupt these processes and lead to neurodevelopmental disorders, including epilepsy, intellectual disability, and developmental delay. My research seeks to understand how disease-causing genetic changes alter human brain development and function, with a particular focus on rare genetic epilepsies. My laboratory uses patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to recreate key aspects of human brain development in the laboratory. We generate specialized three-dimensional brain organoids mimicking fetal brain development that allow us to study how genetic mutations affect developing human brain cells. By combining these models with molecular and cellular approaches and single-cell transcriptomic profiling (scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq), we investigate how disease-associated mutations alter gene regulation and cell fate across distinct cell populations and ultimately affect neuronal development and function. Our current work focuses particularly on CHD2-associated developmental epileptic encephalopathy and DLG4-associated synaptopathy. By determining how mutations in these genes disrupt developing brain cells and neuronal networks, our long-term goal is to uncover disease mechanisms and identify new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

Selected Publications

  • Nieto-Estevez V#, Varma P#, Mirsadeghi S, Caballero J, Gamero-Alameda S, Hosseini A, Silvosa MJ, Thodeson DM, Goswami S, Lybrand ZR, Giugliano M, Navara C, Hsieh J#. “Dual developmental effects of ARX poly-alanine mutations in human cortical excitatory and inhibitory neurons.” Cell Rep 2026 Jan 27;45(1):116746. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116746. PubMed PMID: 41422506. #co-corresponding author
  • Adeyeye A, Varma P, Coppin M, Enerlan N and Hsieh J. “Regulation of neurogenesis and neuronal migration by Rrm2 and Timp3 following seizures”. Neurobiol Dis 2025 Sep 8: 107094.doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2025.107094. PubMed PMID: 40930429.
  • Meyer-Acosta KK, Diaz Guerra E, Varma P, Aruk A, Mirsadeghi S, Perez AM, Rafati Y, Housseini A, Nieto-Estevez V, Giugliano M, Navara C, and Hsieh J. “APOE4 impacts cortical neurodevelopment and alters network formation in human brain organoids.” Stem Cell Reports 2025 Jul 8;20(7):102537. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2025.102537. PubMed PMID: 40541173.
  • Pathak RU, Bihani A, Sureka R, Varma P, Mishra RK. “In situ nuclear matrix preparation in Drosophila melanogaster embryos/tissues and its use in studying the components of nuclear architecture.” Nucleus. 2022 Dec;13(1):116-128. doi: 10.1080/19491034.2022.2043608. PubMed PMID: 35239464.
  • Nieto-Estévez V, Donegan JJ, McMahon CL, Elam HB, Chavera TA, Varma P, Berg KA, Lodge DJ, Hsieh J. “Buprenorphine Exposure Alters the Development and Migration of Interneurons in the Cortex.” Front Mol Neurosci. 2022; 15:889922. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.889922. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35600077.
  • Lybrand ZR, Goswami S, Zhu J, Jarzabek V, Merlock N, Aktar M, Smith C, Zhang L, Varma P, Cho KO, Ge S, Hsieh J. A critical period of neuronal activity results in aberrant neurogenesis rewiring hippocampal circuitry in a mouse model of epilepsy. Nat Commun. 2021 Mar 3;12(1):1423. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21649-8. PubMed PMID: 33658509.
  • Varma P, Lybrand ZR, Antopia MC, Hsieh J. “Novel Targets of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in Human Fetal Brain Development Suggest Early Pregnancy Vulnerability.” Front Neurosci. 2020; 14:614680. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2020.614680. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 33551727.
  • Yang CH, Di Antonio A, Kirschen GW, Varma P, Hsieh J, Ge S. “Circuit Integration Initiation of New Hippocampal Neurons in the Adult Brain.” Cell Rep. 2020 Jan 28;30(4):959-968.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.12.084. PubMed PMID: 31995766.
  • Varma P, Hsieh J. “Rise and Fall of the Empire: Conquering Alzheimer's Disease by Targeting Adult Neurogenesis.” Epilepsy Curr. 2019 Nov-Dec;19(6):411-413. doi: 10.1177/1535759719874813. Epub 2019 Sep 16. PubMed PMID: 31526033.
  • Varma P, Brulet R, Zhang L, Hsieh J. “Targeting Seizure-Induced Neurogenesis in a Clinically Relevant Time Period Leads to Transient but Not Persistent Seizure Reduction.” J Neurosci. 2019 Aug 28;39(35):7019-7028. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0920-19.2019. Epub 2019 Jul 15. PubMed PMID: 31308098.
  • Varma P, Mishra RK. “Little imaginal discs, a Trithorax group member, is a constituent of nuclear matrix of Drosophila melanogaster embryos.” J Biosci. 2018 Sep;43(4):621-633. PubMed PMID: 30207309.
  • Varma P, Mishra RK. “Dynamics of nuclear matrix proteome during embryonic development in Drosophila melanogaster.” J Biosci. 2011 Aug;36(3):439-59. doi: 10.1007/s12038-011-9081-6. PubMed PMID: 21799256.
  • Kallappagoudar S*, Varma P*, Pathak RU, Senthilkumar R, Mishra RK. “Nuclear matrix proteome analysis of Drosophila melanogaster.” Mol Cell Proteomics. 2010 Sep;9(9):2005-18. doi: 10.1074/mcp.M110.001362. Epub 2010 Jun 8. PubMed PMID: 20530634. * equal contribution author.

Courses Taught

  • Human Anatomy and Physiology BIO 171
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology BIO 172