Agnik Dasgupta

Agnik Dasgupta, PhD is the head of the Sensory Morphogenesis Lab @CHINTA. His lab investigates how the mechanosensory hair cells differentiate, develop, and function to help animals navigate in a complex environment. Using the zebrafish’s lateral line—a peripheral sensory organ that harbors hair cells—as a model system, investigators in the group decipher the guiding principles that pattern a complex neural organ in a living animal. Their interdisciplinary approach combines genetic, cell biological, and computational tools to examine how the dynamic interplay between physical forces and molecular signals governs hair-cell specification and guides sensory morphogenesis. Insights from this work will enhance our understanding of sensory development and regeneration, while also offering translatable perspectives for treating sensorineural disorders, including deafness.