Christian A. Porras, Ph.D.

Neurogenomics | Mental health | Clinical research | Education

I am an MD/PhD candidate interested in how genomic, cellular, and social mechanisms shape neuropsychiatric disease. My doctoral research combines human genomic data, single-cell multi-omic sequencing, and computational modeling to study neuroimmune dysfunction in brain disorders.

I am especially interested in questions that connect basic biology to clinical impact: how disease-associated cell states emerge, how cell-cell communication changes across aging and disease, and how these insights can guide more biologically grounded therapies.

My training spans statistical genetics, functional genomics, clinical research, ethics, mentorship, and teaching. I enjoy working across disciplines and communicating science clearly to both technical and general audiences.

Current interests

  • Neuropsychiatric disease biology
  • Neuroimmune mechanisms in brain disorders
  • Human genetics and statistical genomics
  • Single-cell and multi-omic analysis
  • Clinical research, ethics, and health equity
  • Science communication

Research themes

My research program focuses on three connected themes:

  1. Genetic architecture and disease risk
    Understanding how human genetic variation contributes to psychiatric and neurodegenerative disease.

  2. Cellular states and disease mechanisms
    Using single-cell data to study microglia, macrophages, and cell-cell interaction networks in the human brain.

  3. Translation and clinical relevance Connecting molecular findings to clinically meaningful mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets.