Neurochemistry - Research

Nandakumar DN
MBBS, MD, DNB
Professor & Head
Thrust Area of Research

Primary brain tumors

Dr.Nandakumar’s lab 

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most common and most malignant tumours of the central nervous system. It is notorious for its highly infiltrative and invasive behavior. Despite new diagnostic techniques and combined modality therapy prognosis remains dismal. Decades of surgical therapy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have failed to drastically change survival. Glioma cells have exceptional ability to infiltrate normal brain, often along blood vessels or nerve fibres. This feature makes complete radical surgical resection virtually impossible and leading in almost all cases to tumor recurrence. Several factors are thought to contribute to the invasive and migratory properties of GBM cells, interacting with the microenvironment and enhancing motility and invasion. We aim at understanding glutamate excitotoxicity in GBM, glutamate receptor pathway, the role inflammatory and regulatory cytokines and its signaling on migration, proliferation and invasiveness of tumour and contribute to the understanding of the complex biological interactions that regulate glioblastoma growth, invasion and recurrence.

Dr. Ravish H. MBBS MD (ASST PROF)

Dr. Ravish H. MBBS MD (ASST PROF)

For any kind of discomfort or trauma body responds well by briefing certain chemicals or secretions as indicators. This response could be predominantly in the form of stress and pain, which could be an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage leading to disorder/syndrome or disease.
The research team mainly focuses on understanding the neuroendocrinology of stress related disorders aiming to design and develop point of care technologies in health care (POCT) using advance tools of machine learning systems using artificial intelligence (AI) platform like IBM Watson, which can give a paradigm shift towards technology driven diagnosis (TDD) translating publications to products.
The team also has its inclination towards exploring complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) amalgamating Nano-scale synthesis (green chemistry) of potent bioactives to treat communicable and non-communicable aliments with special reference to Mnemonics ultimately aiming towards a better understanding of the mechanisms involved at a molecular level by (Gen-, Transcript- and Prote-) OMIC approaches and their related epigenetic modulations.
The Lab also encourages young minds for technical training and to blossom incubated dreams to reality (Ideas from Lab to Land) with a penultimate goal to service for the welfare of the society via better insights of neurosciences.

Sarada Subramanian,
MSc, Ph.D
Professor

Thrust Area of Research
Alzheimer’s disease

Dr. Sarada Subramanian’s lab

The major focus is  on  (i)  development  of  therapeutic  strategies  to  Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using non-transgenic rodent models and (ii) Identification of plasma based protein biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders such as AD.

Dr. Gokulakrishnan, Assistant Professor of Neurochemistry

Dr Gokul’s lab

Research Specialization: Disease Biology; Clinical significance and subclinical relevance of cellular and molecular alterations in metabolic diseases/ Psychiatric disorders; gut microbiome, epigenetics and metabolomics aspects of gestational diabetes & Schizophrenia, Unraveling mechanisms of Proinflammation, Oxidative stress, and biomarker(s) identification for early disease prediction.
Dr. Gokulakrishnan possesses domain expertise in biomarker research and disease biology and develops precision intervention strategies. He has over 16 years of research experience with multidisciplinary clinical and basic research skills and has published over 50 research papers in peer reviewed journals and also coauthored three chapters in textbooks.

He is presently working on certain unique programmes such as understanding ‘metabolic obesity’ in Indians; gut microbiome, epigenetics and metabolomics aspects of gestational diabetes, Schizophrenia & other Psychiatric disorders; novel biomarker(s) identification for early disease prediction; complementary medicine including molecular benefits of lifestyle intervention and Non-invasive point-of-care (POC) – clinical measures & medical devices.

The long term goal of his lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms of metabolic diseases/Psychiatric disorders and to identify diagnostic/predictive biomarkers of disease, identify drug targets and develop precision intervention strategies.