Vivek Kumar, Ph.D.

A major focus of my current research involves transcript-based characterization of monoaminergic interplay in normal postmortem human brains and its potential association with psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and major depressive disorders.

Collaborative research interests emphasize on understanding the genetic and developmental basis of inherent individual differences in emotionality, and the implications for vulnerability to anxiety, depression and substance abuse using animal models.

To address above biological questions and to perform gene expression studies in intact regions of postmortem human and whole rodent brains, I’m interested in the development and application of cellular and molecular neuroanatomical methods including multiplexed fluorescence in situ hybridization, brain transparency techniques, light sheet microscopy and large image-data analysis.