Update Your ProfileAcademic Title:
Assistant Professor
Primary Appointment:
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Education and Training
Graduate Education and Training
1998 - 2003 Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Thesis : “Structural Stability and Refolding of the Soybean Kunitz Trypsin Inhibitor”
Post Graduate Education and Training
2003 - 2006 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School.
2006 - 2008 Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCLA School of Medicine.
Research/Clinical Keywords
Neurodevelopment Chiral Stereoisomers Alzheimer's disease
Highlighted Publications
Robin Roychaudhuri, Timothy West, Soumyaroop Bhattacharya, Harry Saavedra, Hangnoh Lee, Moataz Gadalla, Lauren Albacarys, Mario Amzel, Peixin Yang and Solomon H. Snyder. Mammalian D-cysteine controls insulin secretion in the pancreas. Molecular Metabolism. Dec 2024.
Isis Nem Oliveira de Souza, Robin Roychaudhuri, Jacqueline de Belleroche and Jean-Pierre Mothet. D-amino acids : a new pathway for clinical intervention in brain diseases. Trends in Molecular Medicine. 2023. Dec 29 (12):1014-1028.
Robin Roychaudhuri, Hasti Atashi, and Solomon H. Snyder. Serine Racemase mediates adult SVZ neurogenesis in mice via fatty acid metabolism. Stem Cell Reports. 2023; Jul 11;18(7):1482-1499.
Robin Roychaudhuri, Moataz M. Gadalla, Timothy West and Solomon H. Snyder. A Novel Stereospecific Bioluminescent Assay for the Detection of Endogenous D-Cysteine. ACS Chem Neuroscience 2022; Dec 7;13(23);3257-3262. “Editor’s choiceArticle”.
Evan Semenza, Maged Harraz, Efrat Abramson, Adarsha Malla, Chirag Vasavda, Moataz Gadalla, Michael Kornberg, Solomon Snyder and #Robin Roychaudhuri. D-cysteine is an endogenous regulator of neural progenitor cell dynamics in the mammalian brain. Proc.Natl.Acad. of Sci. USA. 2021; 118 (39).
Additional Publication Citations
Robin Roychaudhuri and Solomon Snyder. Mammalian D-cysteine regulating neural progenitor cell proliferation. BioEssays. 2022; Vol 44; Issue 7. [Invited review].
Robin Roychaudhuri. Serine Racemase: A Tale of Two Stereoisomers D-Cysteine and D-Serine. ASEAN J. Psychiatry. 2022; Vol. 23 (S2); July; Pg 1-4.
Robin Roychaudhuri. Mammalian D-Cysteine: A new addition to the growing family of biologically relevant D-amino acids. Chirality 2023; Mar 8; doi:10.1002/chir.23555.
Research Interests
Chiral molecules are a marvel of nature. Two molecules with identical structure but not superimposable on each other like a right and left hand have different distribution and function. It is not known how function originates in the two molecules.
Chiral stereoisomers of amino acids are now being identified in mammals which is contrary to the dogma of their existence in only invertebrates. The D-amino acids identified so far have displayed potent functions in mammals ranging from high affinity agonists at the NMDA receptor to functioning in endocrine organs and the brain.
Our work recently identified the D-stereoisomer of cysteine which is the fastest racemizing (conversion between L and D isoforms) amino acid. D-cysteine is enriched in the embryonic mammalian brain at day E9.5 and decreases progressively with development. It controls the proliferation of neural progenitor cells in the brain. D-cysteine is also present in human brain white matter and cerebrospinal fluid. D-cysteine is also present in the islets of the pancreas in humans and mice where it controls insulin secretion. The identification of endogenous D-cysteine has potential implications for therapeutic interventions in neurodevelopment disorders and in type 1 diabetes.
The goal of our lab is to elucidate the function of these novel molecules in the context of human biology and dissect their translational potential. We are open to forging productive collaborations with groups and researchers around the world in achieving our aims.
Awards and Affiliations
1997 University Grants Commission-Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (UGC-CSIR) Junior Research Fellowship by Govt. of India (Science and Technology).
1997 95th percentile in Graduate Aptitude Test in Chemistry (GATE)-All India.
- U.K Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship at University of Cambridge U.K.
- Milton E. Mohr Graduate Fellowship at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (excellence in teaching).
- Second Prize in UCLA Dept of Neurology Annual Science Day Poster presentation.
- Third Prize at Seaborg Symposium Poster Presentation.
- UCLA Department of Neurology Service Award.
- Dean’s Prize finalist at UCLA Science Poster Day.
- Curriculum Development and Educational Leadership at UCLA School of Medicine.
2024. Maryland Stem Cell Foundation Launch Award.
Grants and Contracts
Active Grants
1/2/2025 (PI)
Role of lipid metabolic signatures in human iPSC dervide neurons from AD patients.
Maryland Stem Cell Research Launch Award
Total Direct Costs : $350,000 (two years)
Pending Grants
6/15/24 (PI)
Role of D-cysteine in Neural Progenitor Cell Dynamics in the Developing Brain.
R21MH130832 (scored; pending resubmission); NIMH/NINDS
Total Direct Costs: $450,313 (two years).
In the News
Community Service
2009 Journal of Immunology Ad hoc reviewer
2010 Biochemistry Ad hoc reviewer
2012 Journal of American Chemical Society Ad hoc reviewer
2013 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Ad hoc reviewer
2013 Journal of Medicinal and Bioorganic Chemistry Ad hoc reviewer
2016 Science Ad hoc reviewer
2024 Bentham Press
[Reviewed original manuscripts from the journals listed above.]
2024-present: Editorial Board member: Journal of Molecular Biology
Professional Activity
Member, Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
American Heart Association (AHA)
Lab Techniques and Equipment
Neuronal Stem Cell Isolation and Culture
Neutrophil and macrophage isolation and culture (human and mice)
Mass spectrometry (ESI, MALDI)
Ion Mobility Spectroscopy
Mouse islet Isolation and culture
Biochemistry (Enzyme kinetics, Purification, Organelle isolation, Chromatography)
Molecular Biology (Cloning, library preparation)
Biophysical Techniques (Circular dichroism, EPR spectroscopy, fluorescence, UV-visible spectroscopy)
Microscopy (Confocal, live cell imaging, Fluorescence, super resolution, Atomic Force)