Roychaudhuri, Robin | University of Maryland School of Medicine

Education and Training

Graduate Education and Training

1998 - 2003 Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Thesis : “Structural Stability and Refolding of the Soybean Kunitz Trypsin Inhibitor”

Post Doctoral Training

2003 - 2006 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School.

2006 - 2008 Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCLA School of Medicine.

Highlighted Publications

Robin Roychaudhuri. Altered Lipid Landscapes Provide a Molecular Perspective on Schizophrenia. Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science. Nov 2025.https://doi.org/10.20900/jpbs.20250016

Robin Roychaudhuri, Timothy West, Soumyaroop Bhattacharya, Harry Saavedra, Hangnoh Lee, Moataz Gadalla, Lauren Albacarys, Mario Amzel, Peixin Yang, and Solomon H. Snyder. Mammalian D-cysteine controls insulin secretion in the pancreas. Molecular Metabolism. Dec 2024.

Isis Nem Oliveira de Souza, Robin Roychaudhuri, Jacqueline de Belleroche and Jean-Pierre Mothet. D-amino acids: a new pathway for clinical intervention in brain diseases. Trends in Molecular Medicine. 2023. Dec 29 (12):1014-1028.

Robin Roychaudhuri, Hasti Atashi, and Solomon H. Snyder. Serine Racemase mediates adult SVZ neurogenesis in mice via fatty acid metabolism. Stem Cell Reports. 2023; Jul 11;18(7):1482-1499.

Robin Roychaudhuri, Moataz M. Gadalla, Timothy West and Solomon H. Snyder. A Novel Stereospecific Bioluminescent Assay for the Detection of Endogenous D-Cysteine. ACS Chem Neuroscience 2022; Dec 7;13(23);3257-3262. “Editor’s choice Article”.

Evan Semenza, Maged Harraz, Efrat Abramson, Adarsha Malla, Chirag Vasavda, Moataz Gadalla, Michael Kornberg, Solomon Snyder and ^#Robin Roychaudhuri. D-cysteine is an endogenous regulator of neural progenitor cell dynamics in the mammalian brain. Proc.Natl.Acad. of Sci. USA. 2021; 118 (39).

Additional Publication Citations

Robin Roychaudhuri and Solomon Snyder. Mammalian D-cysteine regulating neural progenitor cell proliferation. BioEssays. 2022; Vol 44; Issue 7. [Invited review].

Robin Roychaudhuri. Serine Racemase: A Tale of Two Stereoisomers D-Cysteine and D-Serine. ASEAN J. Psychiatry. 2022; Vol. 23 (S2); July; Pg 1-4.

Robin Roychaudhuri. Mammalian D-Cysteine: A new addition to the growing family of biologically relevant D-amino acids. Chirality 2023; Mar 8; doi:10.1002/chir.23555.

Research Interests

Chirality is one of nature’s most elegant paradoxes: two molecules, identical in composition yet mirror images of each other, can behave in profoundly different ways—like right and left hands that never quite align. How such subtle structural differences give rise to distinct biological functions remains one of science’s most intriguing unanswered questions.

Long considered a feature limited to invertebrates, chiral stereoisomers of amino acids are now emerging as powerful and unexpected players in mammalian biology. D-amino acids, once overlooked, are proving to be highly active—serving as potent regulators of NMDA and other receptors and influencing critical processes in the brain and endocrine systems.

Our work has uncovered a particularly dynamic molecule: D-cysteine, the fastest racemizing amino acid known. Strikingly enriched in the embryonic mammalian brain at day E9.5, its levels decline as development progresses, pointing to a tightly regulated and time-sensitive role. We’ve shown that D-cysteine governs the proliferation of neural progenitor cells, positioning it as a key regulator of early brain development. Beyond this, it is present in human white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, and pancreatic islets, where it plays a role in controlling insulin secretion.

The discovery of endogenous D-cysteine opens an exciting frontier, with far-reaching implications for neurodevelopmental disorders and type 1 diabetes.

Our lab is driven by a central mission: to decode the biological functions of these overlooked molecules and translate their potential into meaningful therapeutic advances. We actively seek collaborations with researchers worldwide to push the boundaries of this emerging field.

Awards and Affiliations

1997 University Grants Commission-Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (UGC-CSIR) Junior Research Fellowship by Govt. of India (Science and Technology).

1997 95^th percentile in Graduate Aptitude Test in Chemistry (GATE)-All India.

U.K Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship at University of Cambridge U.K.
Milton E. Mohr Graduate Fellowship at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (excellence in teaching).

Second Prize in UCLA Dept of Neurology Annual Science Day Poster presentation.
Third Prize at Seaborg Symposium Poster Presentation.
UCLA Department of Neurology Service Award.
Dean’s Prize finalist at UCLA Science Poster Day.
Curriculum Development and Educational Leadership at UCLA School of Medicine.

2024. Maryland Stem Cell Foundation Launch Award.

2025. Invited speaker Japanese Biochemical Society, Kyoto, Japan.

2025. NIH-Mead Johnson Nutrition Young Investigator Award.

Grants and Contracts

The Roychaudhuri Laboratory is supported by grants from the State of Maryland, School of Medicine, Federal Government and American Heart Association.

In the News

https://metabolomicscentre.ca/novel-neurotransmitters-and-global-lipidomics-a-tmic-success-story/

https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-d-amino-acid-1

Community Service

2009 Journal of Immunology (Ad hoc reviewer)

2010 Biochemistry (Ad hoc reviewer)

2012 Journal of American Chemical Society (Ad hoc reviewer)

2013 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Ad hoc reviewer)

2013 Journal of Medicinal and Bioorganic Chemistry (Ad hoc reviewer)

2016 Science (Ad hoc reviewer)

2024 Bentham Press

2025 eLife

[Reviewed original manuscripts from the journals listed above.]

2024-present: Editorial Board member: Journal of Molecular Biology

2026-present: Editorial Board member: Current Aging Science

Professional Activity

Member, Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

American Heart Association (AHA)

Japanese Biochemical Society (JBS)

Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI)

Lab Techniques and Equipment

Neuronal Stem Cell Isolation and Culture

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell culture and induction

Non-Human Primate (Baboon) model of preclinical investigation

Neutrophil and macrophage isolation and culture (human and mice)

Mass spectrometry (ESI, MALDI)

Ion Mobility Spectroscopy

Mouse islet Isolation and culture

Biochemistry (Enzyme kinetics, Purification, Organelle isolation, 2D Chromatography)

Molecular Biology (Cloning, library preparation)

Biophysical Techniques (Circular dichroism, EPR spectroscopy, fluorescence, UV-visible spectroscopy, Equilibrium protein and peptide folding kinetics)

Microscopy (Confocal, live cell imaging, Fluorescence, super resolution, Atomic Force)