Vascular Biology Lab primarily focuses on the pathologies associated with the mitochondria which is ubiquitously known as the powerhouse of the cell. The mitochondria constitute the cell’s machinery which is used to produce the universal energy currency or ATP which is needed for the functioning of the cell.

Many studies including our own implicate mitochondrial dysfunction as being one of the primary causes for cellular and tissue damage in the progression of many metabolic disorders like Ischemia and Diabetes Mellitus. Here, we focus on mitochondrial damage and its assessment in Ischemia Reperfusion Injury (I/R) in the various organs of the body.

In the heart, we are working on two of the sub-populations of mitochondria found in cardiac tissues; Interfibrillar Mitochondria (IFM) and Sub-sarcolemmal Mitochondria (SSM). We are trying to quantify the difference in the level of damage dealt to each sub-population during I/R and the mechanism behind the same so as to aid in the treatment of I/R.

Simultaneously, we are working on developing a dietary supplement to deliver targeted nutrition to supplement the mitochondria and aid its biogenesis and hence delay the onset of age-related disorders.

In brain I/R, we are investigating the pathological link between brain and heart due to revascularization injury at either site. Also under investigation is the phenomenon of remote organ injury at one site due to I/R at another site.

To achieve these goals, a multidisciplinary approach is employed that recruits the use of biochemical, computational, cellular, molecular, physiological and preclinical models to understand and unravel the mitochondrial pathways involved.