[Stony Brook email to be updated] 
[lab email: helloprakashlab@gmail.com]

Priya Prakash grew up in Bengaluru, India, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology Engineering before moving to the United States to pursue graduate studies. She completed her PhD in Chemistry at Purdue University working with Gaurav Chopra and was an Eli Lilly-Stark Neurosciences Predoctoral Research Fellow. During her graduate training, she received several awards recognizing her research and mentorship, including the PULSe Outstanding Graduate Student in Research Award and the Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award. Her doctoral research integrated chemistry, neuroscience, and immunology to investigate how amyloid-β alters microglial function, leading to the discovery of a lipid droplet-mediated mechanism that impairs microglial activity and the development of new tools for studying glial biology.

For her postdoctoral training, Priya worked with Shane Liddelow at the Institute for Translational Neuroscience at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where she was a Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellow. There, she expanded her research program to investigate glial contributions to neurodegenerative disease, uncovering roles for reactive astrocyte-derived lipids in tauopathy and identifying oligodendrocyte dysfunction and myelin abnormalities as central features of X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism.

Priya is particularly interested in understanding how lipids regulate glial function in health and disease. Her research combines molecular, cellular, and translational approaches to uncover how dysregulated lipid metabolism contributes to neurodegeneration. She is committed to fostering a collaborative, supportive, and inclusive research environment where trainees from diverse backgrounds can develop into independent scientists.