Department of Pathology

Krishna L. Bharani, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor-Clinical

portrait of Krishna Bharani, MD, PhD

Phone:

614-292-8649

E-mail:

Email Dr. Bharani

Office Location:

4181 Graves Hall
320 W. 10th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210

Biosketch

Dr. Krishna L. Bharani is a clinical neuropathologist with research interests in neurodegenerative diseases and biobanking. Their research interests are fundamentally driven by a fascination with memory and learning. This has led them to use neurocognitive, neuroimaging, and neuropathological techniques to better understand the pathology underlying Alzheimer's disease. They are also passionate about ways to improve resident wellness, medical education, and pathology/lab medicine outreach. They are a voracious consumer of speculative fiction audiobooks and like growing plants in unconventional places.

Academic and Medical Appointments

2025-Present Assistant Professor-Clinical, Department of Pathology, Neuropathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Education and Training

2023-2025 Neuropathology Fellowship, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

2021-2023 Anatomic Pathology Residency, Stanford University, CA

2013-2021 M.D. & Ph.D., Medical Scientist Training Program, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

2007-2011 B.S. Chemistry and Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL

Selected Publications

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  • Taiwo R, …Bharani KL*, Nagpal S, Gephart MH (2025). Adaptive Cohort Design and LAT1 Expression Scale for A Phase 2a Trial of QBS72S in Breast Cancer Brain Metastases. BMC Cancer. 2025 Aug 15;25(1):1316. doi: 10.1186/s12885-025-14282-x. PMID: 40813655; PMC12355770.
  • Fox T, Needleman L, Bharani KL*, Mihm F, Annes JP, Chang JJ. (2025). Functional Suppression of a Prolactinoma by a Dopamine-Secreting Paraganglioma. JCEM Case Rep. 22;3(6):luaf080. doi: 10.1210/jcemcr/luaf080. PMID: 40264563; PMC12011523.
  • Ernst K, Heisen C, Tokuyama MA, Bhali R, Bharani KL* (2025). Making Housestaff Feel at Home: Impact of Workspace Interventions on Anatomic Pathology Trainee Wellness. Academic Pathology, 12(2): 100170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acpath.2025.100170. PMID: 40255367. PMC12005852
  • Merk J, Hennis R, Bharani KL (2025). Alzheimer's disease. The Autopsy Book. Published March 2025. Available at: https://theautopsybook.com/alzheimers/
  • Shaghaghian E, Park DJ, Bharani KL*, Sen SK, Chang SD (2025). Aggressive Primary Cutaneous Apocrine Carcinoma of the Scalp: A Clinical Case Report. Cureus 17(1): e77444. http://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.77444. PMID: 39949429. PMC11825106
  • Akhavan-Sigari A, Park DJ, Harary PM, Chivakula M, Theodros D, Bharani KL*, Hori YS, Persad ARL, Lam FC, Emrich SC, Ustrzynski L, Tayag A, Chang S D. (2025). Coexisting sellar Rathke cleft cyst and planum sphenoidale meningioma: illustrative case. Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons, 9(3), CASE24551. https://doi.org/10.3171/CASE24551. PMID: 39832313. PMC11744685
  • Terry M, Nguyen MP, Tang V, Guney E, Bharani KL*, Dahiya S, Choutka O, Borys E, Reis G, Blevins L, Aghi M, Kunwar S, DeGroot J, Raleigh DR, Pekmezci M, Bollen AW, Cha S, Joseph NM, Perry A (2024). High-Grade Progression, Sarcomatous Transformation, and/or Metastasis of Pituitary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (PitNENs): The UCSF Experience. Endocrine Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12022-024-09829-w. PMID: 3938803. PMC11659330
  • Lemoine L, Ledreux A, Mufson EJ, Perez SE, Simic G, Doran E, Lott I, Carroll SL, Bharani KL*, Thomas S, Gilmore A, Hamlett ED, Nordberg A, and Granholm A-Ch (2020). Regional binding of tau and amyloid PET tracers in Down syndrome autopsy brain tissue. Molecular Neurodegeneration, 15(1), 1-10. PMID: 33222700. PMC7682014.
  • Emre C, Hjorth E, Bharani KL*, Carroll SL, Granholm A-Ch, Schultzberg M (2020). Receptors for pro-resolving mediators are increased in Alzheimer’s disease brains. Brain Pathology, 30(3), pp.614-640. PMID: 31912564. PMC8018009.
  • Bharani KL, Ledreux A, Gilmore A, Carroll SL, Granholm A-Ch (2019). Serum Pro-BDNF levels correlate with phospho-tau staining in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 87, pp.49-59. PMID: 31882186.
  • Bharani KL, Derex R, Granholm A-Ch, Ledreux A (2017). A noradrenergic lesion aggravates the effects of systemic inflammation on the hippocampus of aged rats. PLOS ONE, 12(12), p.e0189821. PMID: 29261743. PMC5736222.
  • Ledreux A, Hamlett ED, Lockrow J, Bharani KL, Granholm A-Ch (2016). Neurodegeneration and Memory Loss in Down Syndrome: Perspectives on Potential Therapeutics. In: Sun, M.K., editor. Research Progress in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia. Volume 6, Chapter 7. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, pp.169-194.
  • Bharani KL, Paller KA, Reber PJ, Weintraub S, Yanar J, Morrison RG (2016). Compensatory processing during rule-based category learning in older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 23(3), pp.304-326. PMID: 26422522 PMC4828326.
  • Morrison RG, Reber PJ, Bharani KL*, Paller KA (2015). Dissociation of category-learning systems via brain potentials. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, p.389. PMID: 26217210. PMC4493768.
  • Baranello R, Bharani KL*, Padmaraju V, Chopra N, Lahiri D, Greig N, Pappolla M, Sambamurti K (2015). Amyloid-beta protein clearance and degradation (ABCD) pathways and their role in Alzheimer’s disease. Current Alzheimer Research, 12(1), pp.32-46. PMC4820400. PMID: 25523424.
  • Sweis BM, Bharani KL, Morrison RG (2012). Time course of inhibition in analogical reasoning: An event-related potential approach. In N Miyake, D Peebles, & R P Cooper (Eds), Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.
  • Morrison RG, Bharani K, Chihade D, Nuechterlein K, Weintraub S, Reber PJ, Paller KA (2011). Category learning brain potentials as neurocognitive markers for pathologic aging. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 7(4), S32-33, S216.