Dr Aatish Mahajan

Dr. Aatish Mahajan received his Ph.D in Biochemistry (2014-2019) from the Department of Biochemistry, PGIMER, Chandigarh. His research was focused on studying 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 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 various 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.

To move further, he joined as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Division of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, (July 2022- December 2022). 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.

Dr. Aatish received MK Bhan fellowship with the host institution THSTI, India in 2023 where he was 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".

Recently in March 2024, he received the prestigious DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellowship with LVPEI as a host Institute and where his work is focused on understanding the “Effect of maternal diabetes during pregnancy on placental epigenetics and its association with retinal development and risk of retinopathy in infants”.