Prashant’s interest in pursuing a physician-scientist pathway originated from his undergraduate research experience in Dr. Jennifer Doudna’s RNA biochemistry laboratory at UC Berkeley. During his time there, the lab discovered the biological function of an RNA-mediated enzyme called Cas9 that can be engineered to correct mutations in DNA occurring in human cells. His project focused on the fundamental biology underlying Cascade-Cas3, a complex related to Cas9. 

His current research interests stem directly from patient encounters during medical school where he learned that many patients with cancer, cutaneous disease, or other diseases corresponding to aberrant transcription – have a wide array of mutations in the non-coding regions of their genomes. Furthermore, the nucleus is spatially organized such that DNA, RNA, and protein molecules involved in shared functional and regulatory processes are compartmentalized in three-dimensional (3D) structures. These structures are emerging as a paradigm for gene regulation, a highly complex process that requires the dynamic coordination of hundreds of regulatory factors around precise targets in different cell states. He has contributed to development of a novel method called Split Pool Recognition of Interactions by Tag Extension (SPRITE) that generates high-resolution global maps of RNA and DNA interactions (Quinodoz et al Cell 2018, Quinodoz, Bhat et al Cell 2021, Quinodoz, Bhat et al Nature Protocols 2021), which generated a view of nuclear organization around several essential nuclear functions.

Science and health policy/public outreach

Prashant’s training and experience has also involved exploring the intersection between science, policy, and the public. He was Editor-in-Chief of Berkeley Scientific Journal and a science writer for PLoS before starting medical school. In addition to science writing, he is interested in shaping policy decisions by advocating for continued federal funding of basic science research. To that end, he has participated in face-to-face discussions with advocates and politicians directly involved in policy decisions at the federal level through his involvement in science policy programs in Washington DC and the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society. Additionally, he led the LGBTQ+ group at the Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity, where he organized social and outreach events to improve all facets of LGBTQ+ life.

3D genome organization around nuclear speckles drives mRNA splicing efficiency
Prashant Bhat, Amy Chow, Benjamin Emert, Olivia Ettlin, Sofia A. Quinodoz, Yodai Takei, Wesley Huang, Mario R. Blanco, Mitchell Guttman
Biorxiv, 2023 (in Review)

SPRITE: A genome-wide method to map higher-order 3D spatial interactions in the nucleus using combinatorial split-and-pool barcoding.
S.A.Quinodoz, P. Bhat, P. Chovanec, J.W. Jachowicz, N. Ollikainen, E. Detmar, E. Soehalim, and M. Guttman.
Nature Protocols, 2022. *Invited Protocol

Nuclear compartmentalization as a mechanism of quantitative control of gene regulation.
P. Bhat, D. Honson, and M. Guttman.
Nature Reviews Molecular and Cell Biology, 2021. *Cover Story

RNA promotes the formation of spatial compartments in the nucleus.
S.A. Quinodoz, P. Bhat*, J.W. Jachowicz*, N. Ollikainen*, A.K. Banerjee, I.N. Goronzy, M.R. Blanco, P. Chovanec, A. Chow, Y. Markaki, J. Thai, K. Plath, and M. Guttman.
Cell, 2021.

SARS-CoV-2 disrupts splicing, translation, and protein trafficking to suppress host defenses
A.K. Banerjee*, M.R. Blanco*, E. Bruce*, D. Honson**, L. Chen**, A. Chow, P. Bhat, N. Ollikainen, S.A. Quinodoz, C. Loney, J. Thai, Z.D. Miller, A.E. Lin, M.M Schmidt, D.G. Stewart, D. Goldfarb, G. De Lorenzo, S.J. Rihn, R. Voorhees, J.W. Botten, D. Majumdar, and M. Guttman.
Cell, 2020.

Higher-order inter-chromosomal hubs shape 3-dimensional genome organization in the nucleus.
S.A. Quinodoz, N. Ollikainen, B. Tabak, A. Palla, J.M. Schmidt, E. Detmar, M. Lai, A. Shishkin, P. Bhat, Y. Takei, V. Trinh, E. Aznauryan, P. Russell, C. Cheng, M. Jovanovic, A. Chow, L. Cai, P. McDonel, M. Garber, and M. Guttman.
Cell, 2018. *F1000 Recommended

Surveillance and processing of foreign DNA by the Escherichia coli CRISPR-Cas system.
S. Redding, S.H. Sternberg, M. Marshall, B. Gibb,P. Bhat, C.K.Guegler, B. Wiedenheft, J.A. Doudna, & E.C. Greene.
Cell, 2015.

CasA mediates Cas3-catalyzed target degradation during CRISPR RNA-guided interference.
M.L. Hochstrasser*, D.W. Taylor*, P. Bhat, C.K. Guegler, S.H. Sternberg, E. Nogales, J.A. Doudna.
PNAS, 2014.

Patterns of Clinical Progression in Radiorecurrent High-Risk Prostate Cancer.
R.G. Philipson, [and 50 authors, including P. Bhat].
European Urology, 2021.

Comparison of Multimodal Therapies and Outcomes among patients with high- risk prostate adenocarcinoma with adverse clinicopathologic features.
A.U. Kishan, [and 48 authors, including P. Bhat].
JAMA Network Open, 2021.

Performance of a Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography-Derived Risk-Stratification Tool for High-risk and Very High-risk Prostate Cancer
M. Xiang, [and 64 authors, including P. Bhat].
JAMA Network Open 2021.

The Potential of CRISPR-Guided Therapies in the Dermatology Clinic
P. Bhat and L. Garibyan.
JID Innovations 2022.

Interplay Between Duration of Androgen Deprivation Therapy and External Beam Radiotherapy With or Without a Brachytherapy Boost for Optimal Treatment of High-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Patient-Level Data Analysis of 3 Cohorts
A.U. Kishan, [and 58 authors, including P. Bhat].
JAMA Oncology 2022.