Schahram Akbarian, MD, PhD
img_Schahram Akbarian
PROFESSOR | Genetics and Genomic Sciences
PROFESSOR | Psychiatry
PROFESSOR | Neuroscience
Research Topics
Depression, Schizophrenia
Multi-Disciplinary Training Area
Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutics (DMT), Neuroscience [NEU]
Dr. Akbarian’s research interests include epigenetic determinants of normal and diseased human brain development, with implications for the neurobiology of major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism and depression. This work is largely focused on charting DNA and histone modification landscapes, and more generally, genome organization, in specific cell types from brain. These clinical studies are complemented by preclinical research, exploring novel avenues for treatment of psychiatric disease in cell cultures and animal models with specific mutations in proteins regulating chromatin and chromosomal architectures.

Key words: nucleosome, epigenome, histone methylation, neuronal nucleus, prefrontal cortex, mood disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder
Publications

Selected Publications

Mapping recurrent mosaic copy number variation in human neurons. Chen Sun, Kunal Kathuria, Sarah B. Emery, Byung Jun Kim, Ian E. Burbulis, Joo Heon Shin, Joseph G. Gleeson, Martin W. Breuss, Xiaoxu Yang, Danny Antaki, Changuk Chung, Dan Averbuj, Laurel L. Ball, Subhojit Roy, Daniel Weinberger, Andrew Jaffe, Apua Paquola, Jennifer Erwin, Richard Straub, Rujuta Narurkar, Gary Mathern, Christopher A. Walsh, Alice Lee, August Yue Huang, Alissa D’Gama, Caroline Dias, Eduardo Maury, Javier Ganz, Michael Lodato, Michael Miller, Pengpeng Li, Rachel Rodin, Rebeca Borges-Monroy, Robert Hill, Sara Bizzotto, Sattar Khoshkhoo, Sonia Kim, Zinan Zhou, Peter J. Park, Alison Barton, Alon Galor, Chong Chu, Craig Bohrson, Doga Gulhan, Elaine Lim, Euncheon Lim, Giorgio Melloni, Andrew J. Chess, Chaggai Rosenbluh, Schahram Akbarian. Nature Communications

Somatic mosaicism in schizophrenia brains reveals prenatal mutational processes. Eduardo A. Maury, Attila Jones, Vladimir Seplyarskiy, Thanh Thanh L. Nguyen, Chaggai Rosenbluh, Taejong Bae, Yifan Wang, Alexej Abyzov, Sattar Khoshkhoo, Yasmine Chahine, Sijing Zhao, Sanan Venkatesh, Elise Root, Georgios Voloudakis, Panagiotis Roussos, Peter J. Park, Schahram Akbarian, Kristen Brennand, Steven Reilly, Eunjung A. Lee, Shamil R. Sunyaev, Christopher A. Walsh, Andrew Chess. Science

A common flanking variant is associated with enhanced stability of the FGF14-SCA27B repeat locus. David Pellerin, Giulia F. Del Gobbo, Madeline Couse, Egor Dolzhenko, Sathiji K. Nageshwaran, Warren A. Cheung, Isaac R.L. Xu, Marie Josée Dicaire, Guinevere Spurdens, Gabriel Matos-Rodrigues, Igor Stevanovski, Carolin K. Scriba, Adriana Rebelo, Virginie Roth, Marion Wandzel, Céline Bonnet, Catherine Ashton, Aman Agarwal, Cyril Peter, Dan Hasson, Nadejda M. Tsankova, Ken Dewar, Phillipa J. Lamont, Nigel G. Laing, Mathilde Renaud, Henry Houlden, Matthis Synofzik, Karen Usdin, Andre Nussenzweig, Marek Napierala, Zhao Chen, Hong Jiang, Ira W. Deveson, Gianina Ravenscroft, Schahram Akbarian, Michael A. Eberle, Kym M. Boycott, Tomi Pastinen, Bernard Brais, Stephan Zuchner, Matt C. Danzi, Emily Bateman, Chelsea Berngruber, Fabio Cunial, Colleen P. Davis, Huyen Dinh, Harsha Doddapaneni, Kim Doheny, Shannon Dugan-Perez, Tara Dutka. Nature Genetics

View All Publications

Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology companies, and other outside entities to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their outside financial relationships.

Dr. Akbarian has not yet completed reporting of Industry relationships.

Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.