Krishanu Saha

About

Krishanu Saha is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests lie in using human stem cells together with emerging engineering methods in material science and synthetic biology to develop smarter therapeutics, model human disease, and advance personalized medicine. His work encompasses personalized and regenerative medicine, biomaterials engineering, stem cell biology, developmental biology, signal transduction, systems biology, synthetic biology, and the design principles of spatial and temporal control networks in cells. Saha has made significant contributions to the field through his innovative approaches to gene editing, cellular reprogramming, and tissue engineering, and has been recognized with numerous awards and honors for his leadership and research excellence.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Cell biology
• Computational biology
• Chemistry
• Molecular biology
• Physics
• Immunology
• Optics
• Genetics

Selected publications

• Classification of T-cell activation via autofluorescence lifetime imaging

  Nature Biomedical Engineering · 2020 · 169 citations

  DOI

• The NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing program

  Nature · 2021 · 130 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  The move from reading to writing the human genome offers new opportunities to improve human health. The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) Consortium aims to accelerate the development of safer and more-effective methods to edit the genomes of disease-relevant somatic cells in patients, even in tissues that are difficult to reach. Here we discuss the consortium's plans to develop and benchmark approaches to induce and measure genome modifications…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Label-free metabolic imaging monitors the fitness of chimeric antigen receptor T cells

  Nature Biomedical Engineering · 2025-09-16 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Low-dose radiation by radiopharmaceutical therapy enhances GD2 <i>TRAC</i> -CAR T cell efficacy in localized neuroblastoma

  Science Advances · 2025-06-06 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have limited efficacy against solid tumors including neuroblastoma. Here, we evaluated whether low-dose radiation delivered by radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT), known to potentiate immune checkpoint inhibitors, can synergize with CRISPR-edited GD2 TRAC- CAR T cells to improve outcomes in neuroblastoma. We found that in the localized model of neuroblastoma, low-dose radiation delivered by 177 Lu-NM600, an alkylphosphocholine mimetic RPT agent, followed 9 d…

  PublisherDOI

• A Reset for Bioethics: A Statement from the Global Observatory for Genome Editing

  The CRISPR Journal · 2025-05-21 · 5 citations

  article

  How should we govern our increasing power to intervene in the processes of life? Genome editing, especially of the human germline, has brought this question to the forefront of global debate. We must seek to rectify shortcomings of earlier deliberative approaches by setting aside a science-and-technology first approach; expanding the range of questions for deliberation; revisiting the distribution of innovation's benefits and risks; and reimagining the limits of research. This Perspective from t…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Enabling Nanoplatforms for Targeted in vivo Delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 Ribonucleoproteins in the Brain

  NIH · $1.5M · 2018–2021

• Assembly of Novel Gene Editing Particles to Understand Genome Surgery in Patient-Derived Cells

  NIH · $370k · 2016–2021

• CAREER: Towards Synthetic Biology in Human Stem Cells

  NSF · $462k · 2014–2021

Frequent coauthors

• Melissa C. Skala

  Morgridge Institute for Research

  85 shared

• Amr A. Abdeen

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  69 shared

• Christian M. Capitini

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  68 shared

• Katherine P. Mueller

  University of Pennsylvania

  67 shared

• Jared Carlson-Stevermer

  Synthego (United States)

  54 shared

• Benjamin Steyer

  Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute

  52 shared

• Bikash R. Pattnaik

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  51 shared

• Shaoqin Gong

  51 shared

Awards & honors

• STAT, STAT “Who to Know” in Therapeutic Gene Editing (2024)
• National Academy of Medicine, Emerging Leaders in Health and…
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), H. I. Romnes Fa…
• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (A…
• Retina Research Foundation, Kathryn and Latimer Murfee Chair…

Similar researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison

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• Justin Williamsh-72
• Sean Palecekh-71