Katya Ravid, DSc

Barbara E. Corkey Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Platelet activation plays a central role in thrombosis and hemostasis, while these processes are central to vascular health and disease. In the platelet lineage, bone marrow stem cells develop into early committed megakaryocyte progenitors, which undergo a unique cell cycle leading to polyploid cells prior to fragmenting into platelets. Our research focuses on mechanisms that regulate these processes under normal conditions vs. pathology. We proposed a new paradigm for controlling the transcription of genes uniquely expressed in this lineage, by identifying a cluster of non-tissue specific transcription factors that, together, constitute a signature uniquely driving this lineage development, among other cell lineages in the bone marrow. Studies were extended to identifying mechanisms governing polyploidy in megakaryocytes, leading also to better understanding of regulatory processes that cause polyploidy in other cells, such as aging vascular smooth muscle cells. Past projects involved molecular characterization of platelet and vascular adenosine receptors, and exploration of their roles in such cellular function. Importantly, knowledge gained by studying basic regulatory processes in healthy megakaryocytes and platelets aids our investigation of bone marrow pathologies, such as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The systems used include primary bone marrow cultures, as well as transgenic and knock out mouse models.

Publications

  • Published 8/28/2026

    Jose A, Lotfollahzadeh S, Natrakul A, Patel A, Sethuraman K, Przekop K, Del Carmen Piqueras M, Ranga A, Cabral HJ, Fillmore N, Ravid K, Chitalia VC. Endothelial indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 drives high-tryptophan diet-mediated thrombosis in cancer-bearing mice. Blood Vessel Thromb Hemost. 2026 Nov; 3(4):100209. PMID: 42904202.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 8/21/2026

    Almiron R, Malloum AB, Lotfollahzadeh S, Sethuraman K, Sharma A, Selinger I, Natrakul A, Patel A, Wong DJW, Chowdhury F, Jose A, Carmen Piqueras MD, Shafiq M, Rahimi N, Zhao YY, Ravid K, Chitalia VC. Indoxyl Sulfate Promotes Uremic Arterial and Venous Thrombosis by Stabilizing IDO1 via the E3 Ligase SHFM3. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2026 Aug 21. PMID: 42627700.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/26/2026

    Lu S, Karkempetzaki AI, Huang N, Zhang C, Murphy GJ, Ravid K. Hematopoietic JAK2V617F mutation-induced reprogramming of blood and bone marrow megakaryocytes. Blood Adv. 2026 May 26; 10(10):3437-3441. PMID: 41707101.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/18/2026

    He T, Zheng C, La J, Pham D, Jafari O, Strampe J, Dulberger K, Ramos-Cejudo J, Gaziano JM, Do NV, Chitalia V, Ravid K, Li A, Fillmore NR. A deep learning model to dynamically predict cancer-associated thromboembolism in large-scale healthcare systems. NPJ Digit Med. 2026 May 18; 9(1). PMID: 42151458.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/5/2026

    Subramaniam S, Napoleon MA, Lotfollahzadeh S, Kamal MH, Kurniawan H, Francis C, Elsadawi M, Wu Wong DJ, Kenney D, Douam F, Bosmann M, Whelan SA, Cabral H, Burks EJ, Zhao G, Kolachalama VB, Ravid K, Chitalia VC. Tryptophan metabolism reprogramming potentially contributes to the prothrombotic milieu in mice and humans with SARS-CoV-2. Blood Vessel Thromb Hemost. 2026 Feb; 3(1):100128. PMID: 41743170.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 183 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Professor, Biochemistry & Cell Biology
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, BU-BMC Cancer Center
    Boston University
  • Member, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute
    Boston University
  • Founding Director, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University
  • Director, Master of Science Program in Biomedical Research, Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Genome Science Institute
    Boston University
  • Graduate Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, PhD
  • Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, DSc
  • Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, BSc

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