Headshot of Karthik Shekhar.

Karthik Shekhar

Assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering
University of California, Berkeley

Karthik Shekhar is John F. Heil Jr. Professor in the chemical and biomolecular engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley. His laboratory is cross-affiliated with neuroscience, vision science and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. His interests are at the interface of neuroscience, genomics and applied mathematics, and his group uses both experimental and computational approaches to understand how diverse types of neurons in the brain develop and evolve, and how they become selectively vulnerable during diseases. He has received the NIH Pathway to Independence Award, the Hellman Fellowship and the McKnight Fellowship in Neuroscience. He also recently received the Donald E. Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

Covers of The Transmitter's summer book picks.

Five new neuroscience books, and other notable titles from 2026

The Transmitter’s summer reading list includes an autopsy of the Human Brain Project, an overview of the neuroscience of motherhood and a memoir from a pioneer in Huntington’s disease research.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
25 August 2026 | 7 min read
Research image of gene chromatin.

Biomarkers for autism, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 August.

By Jill Adams
25 August 2026 | 2 min read
Hands driving a steering wheel with a computer chip.

How, when and why to use agentic AI in our neuroscience labs

With agentic AI’s rapid infiltration into science, researchers need to develop AI use policies and practices.

By Nicolas Schuck
24 August 2026 | 7 min read