Natasha Jaiswal

Areas of Expertise

• Metabolism
• Physiology
• Skeletal muscle biology
• Sarcopenia
• Neuromuscular junction

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

• Healthy Lifestyles and Vital Longevity

Department of Health and Kinesiology Research Area(s)

• Exercise Physiology

Biography

Natasha Jaiswal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Sciences. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Purdue University, she was a Senior Research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania where she made a surprising discovery that AKT, a kinase central to the insulin signaling pathway, is not an obligate intermediate for regulating glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. This surprising finding supports a novel hypothesis suggesting the existence of a pathway, in addition to AKT, required for insulin’s action in skeletal muscles for glucose uptake. She has broad expertise in skeletal muscle physiology, metabolism, and omics analysis, including genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics. Her research program explores two crucial facets of skeletal muscle physiology i.e. glucose homeostasis and muscle performance in physiology and diseased condition. The research projects are distinctly focused on two interesting themes:

1. Role of metabolic signaling, specifically AKT, in the maintenance of skeletal muscle and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) plasticity.
2. Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying changes in body composition during obesity and sarcopenia through the utilization of genetic mouse models and human subjects.

Education

• Ph.D (Biochemistry)

Social Media Accounts

• Twitter
• Linkedin

Selected Honors/Awards

• NIA P30 mentorship award, Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center - 2023
• Scholarship to attend the 15th annual course Isotope Tracers in Metabolic Research: Principles and Practice of Kinetic Analysis,Vanderbilt University - 2023
• Best scientific image award at physiology retreat, University of Pennsylvania - 2022
• Biomedical Postdoctoral travel grant, University of Pennsylvania - 2020
• Art in Science award Biomedical Postdoctoral association, University of Pennsylvania - 2020

Selected Grants

• Pilot career development grant Skeletal muscle aging and neuromuscular junction Disintegration San Antonio Nathan Shock Centre 2021

Professional Affiliations

• Guest Editor of ‘Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
• Member of the Board of Reviewers of ‘The Reviews of Diabetes Journal’
• Member of the peer-review program of the scientific Research Publishing Reviewer for Journals: 1. Journal of Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism 2. Mediator of Inflammation 3. Journal of Diabetes