Bhanu Tewari
  • Assistant Professor
Research Areas
  • Biological Resilience
  • Neural Circuits Regeneration and Repair

Biography

Joined the Department in 2025

Research Interests

Brain extracellular matrix (ECM) is heterogeneous, dynamic, and functionally versatile. A condensed form of ECM known as perineuronal net (PNN), mainly coats inhibitory neurons. PNNs are known to suppress synaptic plasticity, however, whether and how PNN impacts the structure and function of neurons and glial cells at synapses to influence neuroplasticity are not well known. Similarly, ECM and PNN are altered in nearly all brain diseases, but the cause and consequences of ECM and PNN remodeling are poorly understood. My research goal is to better understand the structural and functional interactions between neurons, glial cells, and ECM in brain development, homeostasis, and the pathophysiology of epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.

Educational Background

  • B.Sc., Kumaun University Nainital, India, 2003
  • M.Sc. Zoology, Kumaun University Nainital, India, 2005
  • Ph.D. Biophysics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India, 2014

Selected Publications

    1. Mandal, Arabinda, Chioma Moneme, Bhanu P. Tewari, Allan M. Goldstein, Harald Sontheimer, Lily Cheng, Sean R. Moore, and Daniel Levin. "A novel method for culturing enteric neurons generates neurospheres containing functional myenteric neuronal subtypes." Journal of Neuroscience Methods 407 (2024): 110144. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110144
    2. Bhanu P. Tewari† and Katherine Conant†. “Emerging roles of extracellular matrix in the physiology and pathophysiology of the central nervous system.” Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 18:1400652. (2024) doi: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1400652 †Corresponding author
    3. Patel, Dipan C., Nathaniel Swift, Bhanu P. Tewari, Jack L. Browning, Courtney Prim, Lata Chaunsali, Ian F. Kimbrough, Michelle L. Olsen, and Harald Sontheimer. "Increased expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in dentate gyrus and amygdala causes postinfectious seizures." Brain awad430. (2024) https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad430
    4. Bhanu P. Tewari, AnnaLin M. Woo, Courtney E. Prim#, Lata Chaunsali, Dipan C. Patel, Ian F. Kimbrough, Kaliroi Engel#, Jack L. Browning#, Susan L. Campbell, and Harald Sontheimer. "Astrocytes require perineuronal nets to maintain synaptic homeostasis in mice." Natureneuroscience (2024). 10.1038/s41593-024-01714-3, #Undergraduate mentee
    5. Engel, Kaliroi, Ha-Na Lee, Bhanu P. Tewari, Aaron P. Lewkowicz, Derek DC Ireland, Mohanraj Manangeeswaran, and Daniela Verthelyi. "Neonatal Zika virus infection causes transient perineuronal net degradation." Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 17 (2023): 1187425. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2023.1187425
    6. Elizabeth R. Sharlow, Danielle C. Llaneza, Bhanu P. Tewari, Garnett A. Mingledorff, Anna J. Mendelson, Harald Sontheimer, George S. Bloom, and John S. Lazo. “Pharmacological profiling identifies divergent chemosensitivities of differentiating and maturing iPSC-derived human cortical neuron populations.” The FEBS journal 290, no. 20 (2023): 4950- 4965. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.16901
    7. Sharan, Shiksha, Bhanu Prakash Tewari, and Preeti G. Joshi. "Aging-related changes in expression and function of glutamate transporters in rat spinal cord astrocytes." Neuroglia 4, no. 4 (2023): 290-306. https://doi.org/10.3390/neuroglia4040020
    8. Bhanu P. Tewari†, P.A. Harshad, Mahendra Singh, Nanda B. Joshi, Preeti G. Joshi†, “Pilocarpine-induced acute seizure causes rapid area-specific astrogliosis and alters 3 purinergic signaling in rat hippocampus.” Brain Research, (2023), 148444, doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148444, †Corresponding author
    9. Tewari, Bhanu P.†, Lata Chaunsali, Courtney E. Prim#, and Harald Sontheimer†. "A glial perspective on the extracellular matrix and perineuronal net remodeling in the central nervous system." Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 16 (2022). doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2022.1022754. † Corresponding author, # Undergraduate mentee
    10. Payne, Laura Beth, Bhanu P. Tewari, Logan Dunkenberger, Samantha Bond, Alyssa Savelli, Jordan Darden, Huaning Zhao, et al. "Pericyte progenitor coupling to the emerging endothelium during vasculogenesis via connexin 43." Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 42, no. 4 (2022): e96-e114. doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.121.317324, Featured on the cover