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DR.AATISH MAHAJAN

Ph.D

MKB-YRFP FELLOW

  • MK BHAN – Young Researcher Fellow, Maternal and child health (MCH), THSTI, India (April 2023 - Present)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate: Division of Cardiovascular and metabolic sciences Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA (July 2022- December 2022).
  • Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Department of Internal Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas, USA (August 2019- July 2022)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), PGIMER, Chandigarh, India (2014-2019)
  • Master of Science (Biotechnology), Punjabi University, Patiala, India (2009-2011)
  • Bachelor of Science (Hons.) (Bioinformatics), Panjab University, Chandigarh, India (2006-2009)

Bio-Sketch:

He received Ph.D in Biochemistry (2014-2019) from Department of Biochemistry, PGIMER, Chandigarh. His research was focused on to study the effect of dietary manipulations of maternal folate and vitamin B12 levels on epigenetic regulation of some imprinting genes in maternal and fetal tissues. His research led to conclusion that imbalanced levels of folate and B12 in utero, during lactation and postnatally plays an important role in mis establishing epigenetic marks and such alterations can lead to permanent effect on of imprinting pattern of the genes. During his first Postdoctoral training at The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, USA (August 2019- Jul 2022), his research was focused on to understand mechanistically the interactions of HIV-1 and drugs of abuse that contribute to the vascular remodeling associated with cardio-pulmonary complications in HIV-infected individuals. His major focus was to study the role of non-coding RNAs in pathogenesis of HIV-associated cardio-pulmonary disorders by analyzing small RNA sequencing data and making interactive network of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA using tools. He also obtained an independent postdoctoral grant from NIH and lead research project and coordinated collaboration with other investigators resulting in the breakthrough discovery of soluble/EV-Linked Spike Protein and Viral RNA in Individuals with Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19. He also investigated the role of HIV-infected macrophage derived EVs on pulmonary vascular modeling and PH development via modulation of TGF-β signaling in pulmonary SMCs and ECs. To move further, he joined as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Division of Cardiovascular and metabolic sciences Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, (July 2022- December 2022). His work was focused on to understanding the role of TLR4 signaling in smooth muscle cells’ phenotypic transition during atherosclerosis. He was involved in studying the role of non-coding RNAs in mediating OCT4-TLR4 signaling during atherosclerosis, analyzing single cell RNA sequencing data and collaborating with Bioinformatics experts for analysis. In 2023, he received MK Bhan fellowship with the host institution THSTI, India where he is currently working to shed light on "Effect of combined maternal cadmium and lead metal exposure along with different levels of dietary folate and vitamin B12 during pregnancy on placental epigenetics and their association with risk of pre-eclampsia". His broad goal is to uncover the effects of metal mixtures (cadmium and lead) along with different levels of B-vitamins in maternal diet during pregnancy and whether dietary supplementation can mitigate the effect of metal toxicity and further reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. 

Research Interest:

Nutritional Epigenetics and genomic imprinting, Small RNA and exosomes, Non-coding RNA biology, Maternal and child health, Cardiovascular Biology

Area of Interest:

Folate and B12 are the key one-carbon donors which play an important role in various methylation reactions. In our previous studies we have shown that imbalance of folate and B12  during pregnancy can lead to various epigenetic alterations which can lead to permanent effect on of imprinting pattern of the genes and in-turn effects the growh and development of fetus.

With an aim to translate our research findings into routine and clinical setting our research at THSTI is focussed on:

1. To study the effect of folate and B12 (Normal levels and imbalance of both the vitamins) on metal mixture toxicity and its association with risk of pre-eclampsia.

2. What is the mechanism behind (Epigenetic regulation, DNA methylation or alteration of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network).

3. How these effects are transferred to growing fetus and effect on growth and development of fetus.

We are using in vitro, ex-vivo and in vivo approaches such as human samples, human derived cell lines, primary culture (Explants) and rodents as model systems to explore these areas.

Publication

Research Articles:

  1. Divika Sapehia, Aatish Mahajan, Parampal Singh, Jyotdeep Kaur High dietary folate and low vitamin B12 in the parental diet disturbed the epigenetics of imprinted genes MEST and PHLDA2 in mice placenta. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 2023
  2. Divika Sapehia, Aatish Mahajan, Radhika Srinivasan, Jyotdeep Kaur. Pre-natal dietary imbalance of folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiency adversely impacts placental development and fetal growth. Placenta. 2023 Feb;132:44-54. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2023.01.003. Epub 2023 Jan 3. PMID: 36657272.
  3. Vaughn Craddock#, Aatish Mahajan#, Leslie Spikes#, Balaji Krishnamachary#, Anil Kumar Ram, Ashok Kumar , Ling Chen, Prabhakar Chalise, Navneet K Dhillon. Persistent circulation of soluble and extracellular vesicle-linked Spike protein in individuals with postacute sequelae of COVID-19. J Med Virol. 2023 Feb;95(2):e28568. doi: 10.1002/jmv.28568. PMID: 36756925. (IF- 20.69).# The authors contributed equally to the manuscript (First author equal contribution)
  4. Balaji Krishnamachary#, Aatish Mahajan#, Ashok Kumar#, Stuti Agarwal#, Aradhana Mohan, Ling Chen, Priscilla Hsue, Prabhakar Chalise, Alison Morris, Navneet K Dhillon*. Extracellular vesicle TGF-β1 is linked to cardiopulmonary dysfunction in HIV. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biolology. (2021) May 20. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2021-0010OC. (IF-7.74). # The authors contributed equally to the manuscript (First author equal contribution)
  5. Aatish Mahajan, Divika Sapehia, Beenish Rahat, Jyotdeep Kaur*. Altered dietary ratio of folic acid and vitamin B12 during pregnancy influences the expression of imprinted H19/IGF2 locus in C57BL/6 mice. British Journal of Nutrition. (2021) Oct 20;1-42. doi: 10.1017/S0007114521004220. Online ahead of print. (IF-4.12). (First author)
  6. Aatish Mahajan, Divika Sapehia, Rashmi Bagga, Jyotdeep Kaur* (2021) Different dietary combinations of folic acid and vitamin B12 in parental diet results in epigenetic reprogramming of IGF2R and KCNQ1OT1 in placenta and fetal tissues in mice. Molecular Reproduction and Development 88, 437-458. (IF-2.81). (First author)
  7. Aatish Mahajan, Divika Sapehia, Shilpa thakur, Palani Selvam Mohanraj, Rashmi Bagga, Jyotdeep Kaur*. Effect of imbalance in folate and vitamin B12 in maternal/parental diet on global methylation and regulatory miRNAs. Scientific Reports 9, 17602 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41598-019-54070-9. (IF-5.0). (First author)
  8. Mohit Kumar and Aatish Mahajan#, Divika Sapehia, Jyotdeep Kaur and Rajat Sandhir* Effects of altered maternal folate and vitamin B12 on neurobehavioral outcomes in F1 male mice. Brain Research Bulletin. (2019) Nov;153:93-101. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.07.031. Epub 2019 Aug 1. (IF-3.75). #The authors contributed equally to the manuscript (First author equal contribution)
  9. Mohan Raj, Beenish Rahat, Aatish Mahajan, Rashmi Bagga and Jyotdeep Kaur*: Temporal expression of genes involved in folate metabolism and transport during placental development, preeclampsia and neural tube defects. Molecular Biology Reports. (2019) Apr 2. doi: 10.1007/s11033-019-04776-w. (IF-2.74).
  10. Beenish Rahat, Aatish Mahajan, Rashmi Bagga, Abid Hamid and Jyotdeep Kaur* (2017). Epigenetic modifications at DMRs of placental genes are subjected to variations in normal gestation, pathological conditions and folate supplementation. Nature Scientific Reports Jan 18;7:40774. doi: 10.1038/srep40774. (IF-5.0).

Review articles:

  1. Ashok Kumar, Aatish Mahajan, Ethan A Salazar, Kevin Pruitt, Christian Arce Guzman, Matthias A Clauss, Sharilyn Almodovar, Navneet K Dhillon*. Impact of human immunodeficiency virus on pulmonary vascular disease. Global Cardiology Science and Practice. (2021) Jun 30; 2021(2): e202112.
  2. Beenish Rahat, Taqveema Ali, Divika Sapehia, Aatish Mahajan and Jyotdeep Kaur*: Circulating Cell-Free Nucleic Acids as Epigenetic Biomarkers in Precision Medicine. Frontiers in Genetics. (2020) 11:844. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00844. (IF-4.77).
  1. Divika Sapehia, Shilpa Thakur, Beenish Rahat, Aatish Mahajan, Parampal Singh, Jyotdeep Kaur. Epigenetic regulation during placentation. Epigenetics and Reproductive Health. Pages 117-152. Publisher: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819753-0.00007-6. Volume 21 in Translational Epigenetics (2021), Pages 117-152

MK Bhan-YRFP project (Ongoing)

Title: Effect of combined maternal cadmium and lead metal exposure along with different levels of dietary folate and vitamin B12 during pregnancy on placental epigenetics and their association with risk of pre-eclampsia

Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) for Postdoctoral award (NIH), University of Kansas Medical Center, USA (2020-2021)

Title: Role of LncRNA and associated miRNA(s) in HIV mediated smooth muscle hyperplasia

  • MK Bhan – Young Researcher Fellowship Programme (MKB-YRFP) award (2022 session) from Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India
  • Postdoctoral award (KINBRE-NIH), University of Kansas medical center- 2020
  • International travel grant from DBT-CTEP to present poster at Nutrition 2018 held in Boston, MA USA- 2018
  • Qualified National level Ph.D entrance test of PGIMER, Chandigarh 2013-2016
  • Best poster award in ACBICON conference 2017
  • Qualified the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 98 percentile 2013

Reviewing, Mentoring, and Outreach Experience:

Management: Trained 3 summer students, 3 medical students/residents, 2 technicians and junior personnel

• Review/Editing: Ad hoc reviewer for

  • Nature scientific reports
  • Placenta
  • Inflammation
  • BMC cardiovascular disorders
  • Nutrients, cells, epigenomes…over 10 peer review evaluations since 2019

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=V0oLG5AAAAAJ&hl=en

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aatish-Mahajan?ev=hdr_xprf

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aatish-mahajan-ph-d-45027135

Neha Kumari-- Senior project Associate

  • AATISHMAHAJAN[AT]THSTI[DOT]RES[DOT]IN