Armin Bayati, PhD

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Translational Drug Discovery

Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. My work spans neuroscience, cancer immunology, infectious disease, and cardiovascular biology — using iPSC-derived cell models, high-content imaging, flow cytometry, proteomics, and computational tools to dissect disease mechanisms and advance preclinical drug discovery.

Get in Touch View Publications

📄
First-author, Nature Neuroscience
Developed novel iPSC-based Lewy body model for Parkinson's disease

🧬
First to characterize SARS-CoV-2 cell entry
JBC Editors' Pick — clathrin-mediated endocytosis mechanism

💊
Led preclinical drug discovery programs
Novel therapeutics targeting neurodegeneration, viral entry & cancer

🔬
25+ publications · 1,300+ citations
Harvard, McGill, Nature Neuroscience, Cell Reports, JBC, Lancet

About

Background

I am a scientist with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Cell Biology from McGill University and 10+ years of hands-on research experience. My work centers on modeling neurodegenerative and infectious diseases using iPSC-derived neurons, molecular and cellular techniques, and advanced imaging to uncover disease pathophysiology and test preclinical compounds designed to reverse degeneration.

I have led projects that identified how pathogenic proteins enter and infect cells, uncovered mechanisms involved in neuronal degeneration, developed Python-based tools to analyze live-cell imaging, and helped advance novel small-molecule therapeutics targeting mitochondrial health, viral entry, and cellular aging.

25+

Peer-reviewed publications

1,300+

Citations

500K+

Paper downloads

With first-author studies in Nature Neuroscience, Cell Reports, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, my research bridges fundamental discovery with translational drug development across neuroscience, immunology, infectious disease, and oncology.

Experience

Work Experience & Education

2024 – Present

Harvard Medical School & Mass General Brigham — Research Fellow / Research Instructor

Led preclinical testing of novel drug candidates targeting neurodegeneration, cellular aging, and cancer. Designed high-throughput imaging assays for cytotoxicity, mitophagy, and protein aggregation. Established iPSC differentiation protocols across neuronal and endodermal lineages. Created Python-based pipelines (AutoMorphoTrack) for automated live-cell imaging analysis. Mentored and supervised junior scientists.

2023 – 2024

Montreal Neurological Institute & McGill University — Research Associate

Led multi-year Parkinson's disease program culminating in first- and corresponding-author Nature Neuroscience publication. Advanced iPSC-based disease modeling to dissect mechanisms of apoptosis, autophagy, and protein aggregation. Developed high-resolution electron microscopy workflows. Applied CRISPR/siRNA editing to identify therapeutic targets. Designed EV/exosome transfer assays using CD63/CD9 reporter systems. Integrated mass spectrometry–based proteomics for biomarker discovery. Trained and supervised junior team members.

2018 – 2023

McGill University — Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Cell Biology

PhD research at the Montreal Neurological Institute focused on modeling neurodegenerative and infectious diseases using human cancer cell lines and iPSC-derived neurons. Uncovered molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuronal vulnerability. Published the first paper on the internalization of SARS-CoV-2. Work with BSL-2 and BSL-3 environments.

2018

University of Victoria — Undergraduate Researcher (USRA)

Tissue processing, sectioning, and sample preparation for electron microscopy in the Nahirney lab.

2013 – 2018

University of Victoria — B.Sc. (Honours) with Distinction

Honours work exploring the neurodegenerative effects of stroke in mice using electron microscopy.

Research

Explore My Work

My research spans iPSC-based disease modeling, cellular and molecular assays, advanced microscopy, drug discovery, automation, and computational image analysis.

🧠

iPSC-Derived Neurons

Dopaminergic, cortical, and glial differentiation. Lewy body disease modeling. MEA electrophysiology, calcium imaging, HPLC dopamine quantification.

Explore →

❤️

iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Cardiac differentiation, MEA beat-rate analysis, calcium transient profiling, cardiotoxicity screening, and disease modeling (HCM, DCM).

Explore →

🎯

Cancer Immunology

T-cell killing, ADCC/CDC, checkpoint blockade, cytokine profiling, CAR-T characterization, and immune co-culture systems.

Explore →

🔬

Cellular & Functional Assays

Endocytosis, exosomal biology, autophagy, flow cytometry, PBMC/immune assays, plate-based readouts, and immunocytochemistry.

Explore →

🧬

Genetics & Molecular Biology

CRISPR, siRNA/shRNA/ASO, molecular cloning, viral constructs, protein conjugation, and lysosomal biology.

Explore →

💊

Drug Discovery & Translation

Parkin agonists, TAC evaluation, lysosomal rescue, antivirals, and biomarker strategy.

Explore →

📷

Microscopy & Imaging

Confocal, STED super-resolution, TEM, live-cell imaging, high-content screening, and IHC/histology.

Explore →

📊

Proteomics & Single-Cell Genomics

TMT quantitative proteomics, scRNA-seq (10x Genomics), bulk RNA-seq, GSEA/pathway analysis, UMAP visualization, DESeq2/Seurat pipelines.

Explore →

💻

Coding, Automation & Data

AutoMorphoTrack, Python pipelines, BRAVO/Tecan liquid handling, 96/384-well miniaturization, and machine learning.

Explore →

⚙️

Full Technical Skills

Comprehensive categorized listing of all techniques, instruments, software, and capabilities.

Explore →

📄

Publications

25+ peer-reviewed papers with 1,300+ citations.

Explore →

News

Recent Activity

Feb 2026

Science Advances (Under Review) — Neural cell state modulation by PARK2 and dopaminergic neuroprotection by small molecule Parkin agonism.

Feb 2026

Translational Neurodegeneration (Under Review) — Axonal and Synaptic Dysfunction as the Convergent Driver of Neurodegenerative Cascades.

Feb 2026

eLife — AutoMorphoTrack: A Platform for Quantitative Organelle Analysis.

Feb 2026

YouTube Interview — AutoMorphoTrack: A Platform for Quantitative Organelle Analysis. Watch →

Jan 2026

Nature Immunology (Under Review) — Myeloid PINK1 represses mtDNA release and immune signaling that impacts neuronal pathology in patient-derived idiopathic PD models.

Theses

Thesis Documents

Full-text thesis documents available for download.

📄

BSc Honours Thesis (2018)

Effect of Ischemic Stroke on Neuronal and Glial Cell Structure in the Peri-Infarct Zone of Adult Mice

University of Victoria · 44 MB PDF

📄

PhD Thesis (2023)

Doctoral dissertation — McGill University

McGill University · 18 MB PDF

Core Expertise

iPSC Disease Modeling

Patient-derived iPSCs differentiated into dopaminergic neurons, cortical neurons, cardiomyocytes, endodermal lineages, and glia for in vitro disease recreation and drug screening.

Parkinson's Disease

Deep expertise in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuron biology, including α-synuclein aggregation, Lewy body modeling, mitophagy, lysosomal dysfunction, and PINK1/Parkin pathway dissection.

Cardiac & Metabolic Biology

iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte differentiation, cardiotoxicity screening, MEA electrophysiology, calcium transient profiling, and Seahorse XF metabolic flux analysis for mitochondrial bioenergetics.

Cancer Biology

Immune co-culture systems, T-cell killing assays, ADCC/CDC, checkpoint blockade evaluation, CAR-T characterization, and cytokine profiling across tumor microenvironment models.