Rate My Professor Indranil Basak

Indranil Basak is a cellular and molecular neurobiologist affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences Division at the University of Otago. He held the position of Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry from February 2025 to January 2026. His research centers on understanding pathophysiological mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson's disease and Batten disease. Basak employs induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived human neurons to investigate cell-specific vulnerabilities, neuronal survival pathways, lysosomal function and movement, and the neuroprotective roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) such as NL02. He collaborates closely with Associate Professor Stephanie Hughes on projects linking RNA molecules to brain disease progression.

Basak has received prestigious funding for his work, including the Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship in 2023 worth $559,779 to explore lncRNA NL02's potential in rescuing dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease, a Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant in 2021, and a Neurological Foundation Project Grant in 2020 aimed at charting new neuronal survival pathways. He serves on grant committees for the Neurological Foundation and was involved in the Early Career Researchers Advancement Group at Otago, organizing events such as PhD and postdoc workshops and neuroscience outreach like Being Brainy in Central Otago. Key publications include 'microRNAs as neuroregulators, biomarkers and therapeutic agents in neurodegenerative diseases' (Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 2016), 'Parkinson's disease and age: the obvious but largely unexplored link' (Experimental Gerontology, 2015), 'LRRK2 knockdown in zebrafish causes developmental defects, neuronal loss, and synuclein aggregation' (Journal of Neuroscience Research, 2016), 'Deficiency of the Lysosomal Protein CLN5 Alters Lysosomal Function and Movement' (2021), and 'Transcription Factor-Mediated Generation of Dopaminergic Neurons' (Cells, 2024). Basak has presented seminars, including on cell specificity in Parkinson's disease, contributing to the field through highly cited works on neurodegeneration biomarkers and mechanisms.