Siniša Hrvatin

Siniša Hrvatin

Assistant Professor of Biology and Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Professor; Core Member, Whitehead Institute

Siniša Hrvatin studies states of stasis, such as mammalian torpor and hibernation, as a means to harness the potential of these biological adaptations to advance medicine.

617-324-4436

Phone

WI-661C

Office

shrvatin@wi.mit.edu

Email

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Location

Lab Website
Martina Zhelezarova

Assistant

617-258-5671

Assistant Phone

Education

  • PhD, 2013, Harvard University
  • A.B., 2007, Biochemical Sciences, Harvard University

Research Summary

To survive extreme environments, many animals have evolved the ability to profoundly decrease metabolic rate and body temperature and enter states of dormancy, such as torpor and hibernation. Our laboratory studies the mysteries of how animals and their cells initiate, regulate, and survive these adaptations. Specifically, we focus on investigating: 1) how the brain regulates torpor and hibernation, 2) how cells adapt to these states, and 3) whether inducing these states can slow down tissue damage, disease progression, and even aging. Our long-term goal is to explore potential applications of inducing similar states of “suspended animation” in humans.

Awards

  • Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar, Warren Albert Foundation, 2019
  • NIH Director's New Innovator Award, 2022
  • Searle Scholar, 2023
  • Pew Scholar, 2023
  • McKnight Scholar, 2024

Key Publications

  1. Neurons that regulate mouse torpor. Hrvatin, S, Sun, S, Wilcox, OF, Yao, H, Lavin-Peter, AJ, Cicconet, M, Assad, EG, Palmer, ME, Aronson, S, Banks, AS et al.. 2020. Nature 583, 115-121.
    doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2387-5PMID:32528180
  2. A scalable platform for the development of cell-type-specific viral drivers. Hrvatin, S, Tzeng, CP, Nagy, MA, Stroud, H, Koutsioumpa, C, Wilcox, OF, Assad, EG, Green, J, Harvey, CD, Griffith, EC et al.. 2019. Elife 8, .
    doi: 10.7554/eLife.48089PMID:31545165
  3. Single-cell analysis of experience-dependent transcriptomic states in the mouse visual cortex. Hrvatin, S, Hochbaum, DR, Nagy, MA, Cicconet, M, Robertson, K, Cheadle, L, Zilionis, R, Ratner, A, Borges-Monroy, R, Klein, AM et al.. 2018. Nat Neurosci 21, 120-129.
    doi: 10.1038/s41593-017-0029-5PMID:29230054

Recent Publications

  1. Cell-specific delivery of GJB2 restores auditory function in mouse models of DFNB1 deafness and mediates appropriate expression in NHP cochlea. Ivanchenko, MV, Booth, KTA, Karavitaki, KD, Antonellis, LM, Nagy, MA, Peters, CW, Price, S, Li, Y, Lytvyn, A, Ward, A et al.. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2024.12.24.630240PMID:39763983
  2. Cis-regulatory elements driving motor neuron-selective viral payload expression within the mammalian spinal cord. Nagy, MA, Price, S, Wang, K, Gill, S, Ren, E, Jayne, L, Pajak, V, Deighan, S, Liu, B, Lu, X et al.. 2024. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121, e2418024121.
    doi: 10.1073/pnas.2418024121PMID:39602276
  3. Cis-regulatory elements driving motor neuron-restricted viral payload expression within the mammalian spinal cord. Nagy, MA, Price, S, Wang, K, Gill, SP, Ren, E, McElrath, L, Pajak, V, Deighan, S, Liu, B, Liu, X et al.. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2024.09.02.610875PMID:39282347
  4. Multi-species genome-wide CRISPR screens identify conserved suppressors of cold-induced cell death. Lam, B, Kajderowicz, KM, Keys, HR, Roessler, JM, Frenkel, EM, Kirkland, A, Bisht, P, El-Brolosy, MA, Jaenisch, R, Bell, GW et al.. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2024.07.25.605098PMID:39091747
  5. A torpor-like state (TLS) in mice slows blood epigenetic aging and prolongs healthspan. Jayne, L, Lavin-Peter, A, Roessler, J, Tyshkovskiy, A, Antoszewski, M, Ren, E, Markovski, A, Sun, S, Yao, H, Sankaran, VG et al.. 2024. bioRxiv , .
    doi: 10.1101/2024.03.20.585828PMID:38585858
  6. A cell-type-specific error-correction signal in the posterior parietal cortex. Green, J, Bruno, CA, Traunmüller, L, Ding, J, Hrvatin, S, Wilson, DE, Khodadad, T, Samuels, J, Greenberg, ME, Harvey, CD et al.. 2023. Nature 620, 366-373.
    doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06357-1PMID:37468637
  7. Transcriptional profiling of sequentially generated septal neuron fates. Turrero García, M, Stegmann, SK, Lacey, TE, Reid, CM, Hrvatin, S, Weinreb, C, Adam, MA, Nagy, MA, Harwell, CC. 2021. Elife 10, .
    doi: 10.7554/eLife.71545PMID:34851821
  8. Activity-dependent regulome of human GABAergic neurons reveals new patterns of gene regulation and neurological disease heritability. Boulting, GL, Durresi, E, Ataman, B, Sherman, MA, Mei, K, Harmin, DA, Carter, AC, Hochbaum, DR, Granger, AJ, Engreitz, JM et al.. 2021. Nat Neurosci 24, 437-448.
    doi: 10.1038/s41593-020-00786-1PMID:33542524
  9. An Activity-Mediated Transition in Transcription in Early Postnatal Neurons. Stroud, H, Yang, MG, Tsitohay, YN, Davis, CP, Sherman, MA, Hrvatin, S, Ling, E, Greenberg, ME. 2020. Neuron 107, 874-890.e8.
    doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.06.008PMID:32589877
  10. Neurons that regulate mouse torpor. Hrvatin, S, Sun, S, Wilcox, OF, Yao, H, Lavin-Peter, AJ, Cicconet, M, Assad, EG, Palmer, ME, Aronson, S, Banks, AS et al.. 2020. Nature 583, 115-121.
    doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2387-5PMID:32528180
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Photo credit: Gretchen Ertl/Whitehead Institute