Oscar Harari
Associate Professor
Neurology
Academic information
- Department: Neurology
Leadership title
- Director of the Division of Neurogenetics Director of the Neurobiology of Aging & Resilience Center
Research interests
- Neurogenetics
- Neurobiology of Aging and Resilience
- Alzheimer’s
About
Biography
My research bridges the fields of data science, bioinformatics, and human genomics. I lead a multidisciplinary team that leverages high-dimensional genomic data, including single-cell and spatially resolved transcriptomics, to study neurodegeneration and improve the understanding of complex disease biology.
My research focuses on genetic and functional genomic studies of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. My group combines omics approaches from postmortem human brains with the latest experimental models to provide better insights into the mechanisms by which coding and non-coding variants associated with the disease mediate risk. Specifically, I examine the impact of the neurovascular unit in Alzheimer's, studies autosomal dominant forms of the disease (with mutations in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2), investigates sex differences, and explores Alzheimer's molecular heterogeneity. All these efforts aim to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic treatments to enable precision medicine approaches for neurodegeneration.
Credentials
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellow - Genetics of Neurodegenerative Disease
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
- PhD - Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
- University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
- University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Research
Research interests
- Neurogenetics
- Neurobiology of Aging and Resilience
- Alzheimer’s
Editorial Boards
- Alzheimer’s & Dementia
- Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
- Bio- and Medical Informatics and Cybernetics
- Acta Neuropathologica
- BMC Bioinformatics
- Neurocomputing
- Brain Communications
- Frontiers Neuroscience
- Molecular Neurodegeneration
- Neurobiology of Disease
- Nature Communications
- PLoS ONE
- Progress in Neurobiology
- PLoS Biology
- Acta Neuropathologica Communications
- Molecular Psychiatry
- Journal of Neuroscience
- Theoretical Chemistry Accounts
- BMC Neurology
- BMC Medicine
- Brain
- Human molecular genetics
- Genome Medicine
- Neurobiology of Aging
- Nature Aging
- NPJ Genomic Medicine
- Frontiers in Genetics
- Science Translational Medicine
- IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Genome Biology
Professional Activities
- American Society of Human Genetics
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences
- Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
- Hope Center for Neurological Disorders Investigator
- Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's
- Research and Treatment
- Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium
Awards and Honors
- 2006-2008
- Becas MAE-AECI
- Scholarship for Graduate Studies of foreigners in Spanish Universities.
- Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, España
- 2007
- IEEE FUZZ-IEEE 2007 Conference, Travel fellowship
- Summer Computer Simulation Conference 2007, Best contribution award.
- 2010-2012
- WU Statistical Training in Addiction Genetics Methodology
- Washington University Research education grant for statistical training in the generics of addictions (R25), National Institute on Drug Abuse. DA027995.
- 2013
- Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), Travel Fellowship
- 2016-2018
- Junior Faculty fellowship “Research Education Program on Computational and Statistical tool development for Addiction Genetics (R25)”
- 2017
- International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease Travel Fellowship
- DIAD Family Conference, Young Investigator Award
- NIH Early Career Reviewer Program
- 2018-2022
- Alzheimer’s Association International Conference Scientific program committee reviewer
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Neurodegeneration Challenge Network investigator
- Translation Psychiatry first in the editor’s picks for the manuscript “Integrative system biology analyses of CRISPR-edited iPSC-derived neurons and human brains reveal deficiencies of presynaptic signaling in FTLD and PSP”
- 2019
- Alzheimer’s Association International Conference Student & Postdoc Poster Judge
- 2020
- Archer Foundation Research Scientist
Advisory and Consulting
- Founder and Scientific Advisory Board, MedGenesis Therapeutics
- Scientific Advisory Board, Biomedical Research and Regenerative Medicine (INBIOMED), San Sebastian, Span
- Medical and Scientific Advisor, The AADC Research Trust Board of Directors, UK
- Member of the Pediatric Neurotransmitter Disease (PND) Association Medical & Scientific (M&S) Advisory Board
- Founder and Scientific Advisor, Voyager Therapeutics
- Scientific Advisor, Pfizer
Research Grant Projects
Governmental
- 2015
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen, Research Foundation Flanders, Belgium
- 2017-18
- Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCYT) de Argentina
- 2018
- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
- 2018-19
- Alzheimer's Research UK
- 2019
- Funding Opportunities Parkinson's Research Program, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, US Dept. of Defense
- Gene Environment Interaction (GEI) panel Early Detection (MED) panel
- 2019-2020
- NIH Study Section Special Emphasis Panel “Small Business:Neuroscience Assay, Diagnostics and Animal Model Development” - (SEP) ETTN (13)
- 2020
- NIH Study Section Neurological, Aging and Musculoskeletal
- Epidemiology – (NAME)
- NIH “Neurodifferentiation, Plasticity, Regeneration and Rhythmicity” (NDPR)
- 2021 NIH
- Study Section Early Independence Award (DP5) - ZRG1 PSE-H (70) R
- 2022 NIH
- Study Section Special emphasis panel “Bioengineering, Cellular and Circuit Neuroscience”- ZRG1 ETTN-J(02)
- 2023
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative - Neurodegeneration Computational Fellows Program
- NIH - Special Emphasis Panel [ZRG1 MBBC -R (55) R] “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) (R35) “
- Belgian Alzheimer Foundation
- NIH - Neurological, Mental and Behavioral Health (NMBH)
- 2024
- Reviewer of the New Zealand’s Neurological Foundation Standing member of the NIH Neurological, Mental and Behavioral Health (NMBH) Study Section
Non-governmental
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Title: Novel CSF biomarkers for Neurodegeneration/Cognitive Decline
Funding Period: 12/1/2018-11/30/2021 - Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation GDAPB-201807-2015632
Role: Co-Investigator
Title: Plasma Cell-Free RNA as Alzheimer's Disease Non-Invasive Biomarker
Funding Period: 11/15/2019-11/15/2021 - Archer Found
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Novel CSF biomarkers for Neurodegeneration/Cognitive Decline
Funding Period: 1/1/2020-12/31/2022 - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative - NDCN Collaboration Supplement Application Form
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Title: Reading out changes in cell composition using deconvolution of CSF EV RNA
Funding Period: 9/15/2021-8/14/2021
Completed Grants and Projects
Governmental
- NIH-NIA P50 AG05681 - Knight ADRC Pilot Project
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Cell-free DNA and RNA as Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic Tools
Funding Period: 5/1/2017-4/30/2018 - NIH-NIA 3R01AG057777-02S1
Role: Principal Investigator
Administrative supplement to determine molecular signatures of Alzheimer Disease brains using metabolomic, lipidomic and epigenetic approaches
Funding Period: 9/1/2019 – 05/31/2020
Non-governmental
- The McDonnell Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Characterization of the brain cellular population structure altered in AD
Funding Period: 7/1/2018-6/30/2019 - Hope Center Pilot Project
Role: Principal Investigator
Title: Novel CSF biomarkers for Neurodegeneration/Cognitive Decline
Funding Period: 1/1/2020-12/31/2020