Ashok K. Shetty, PhD

Research Interests

• Dr. Shetty’s laboratory is interested in developing clinically applicable strategies that are efficacious for enhancing brain function after injury, disease, or aging. The central areas of investigation are focused on the following topics.
• Mechanisms by which intranasally administered stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) promote neuroprotection, neuroregeneration, neural plasticity, and alleviate neuroinflammation. The sources of EVs include human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cells (hiPSC-NSCs), astrocytes, and microglia. The model systems include penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion or closed head injury (CHI), status epilepticus (SE), temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
• Mechanisms by which transplanted human neural stem cells or human GABA-ergic precursor cells derived from hiPSCs promote brain repair, and alleviate spontaneous seizures, and cognitive and mood impairments in prototypes of SE, TLE, and TBI.
• Elucidating mechanisms of brain dysfunction and chronic neuroinflammation in prototypes of Gulf War Illness and veterans with Gulf War Illness. Developing therapeutic strategies to alleviate neuroinflammation, increased oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and learning, memory, and mood impairments in models of Gulf War Illness (GWI) and veterans with Gulf War Illness.
• Developing clinically feasible strategies for improving hippocampal neurogenesis memory and mood function and alleviating neuroinflammation in aging and AD models using drugs, nanoparticles and biologics.

Awards, Recognition and Service

• AAAS Fellow conferred by American Association For The Advancement of Science - (Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States)
• Research Career Scientist Award conferred by United States Department of Veterans Affairs - (Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States)

Representative Publications

Lab Members

MAHEEDHAR KODALI, Ph.D. – Research Scientist 

Research Interests: Understanding pathophysiology and developing treatment strategies for neurodegenerative conditions including Gulf War Illness, Traumatic Brain Injury, Aging, Alzheimer's Disease and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, 

Expertise: Developing experimental models for Gulf War Illness, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Survival surgeries for transplantation of cells and chronic EEG recordings, isolation of microglia and astrocytes from rodent brains, functional assessment in rodents by neurocognitive tests, investigation of modulation of neuroinflammation and neurogenesis at the cellular and molecular level, human mesenchymal stem cell cultures and isolation of extracellular Vesicles.

Google Scholar 
Pubmed

MADHU, L.N., Ph.D. – Research Scientist

Research Interests: Dr. Madhu’s research is mainly focused on different treatment strategies for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Gulf War Illness, Traumatic brain injury, Epilepsy and Aging-associated brain dysfunction.

Research skills and expertise: ELISA, Genotyping by PCR, qPCR, Western blotting, Transgenic animal breeding, Brain derived extracellular vesicle isolation, cognitive function behavioral tests, immunohistochemistry, and cell quantification.

Google scholar

BING SHUAI, M.D. – Senior Research Associate

Research Interests: Animal modeling of Gulf War Illness, Aging, Alzheimer’s disease and Temporal lobe epilepsy

Research skills and expertise: Immunohistochemical procedures, Dual/triple immunofluorescence methods and Imaging, Animal model development, Animal perfusions, Brain tissue processing and Cryostat sectioning.

Sahithi Attaluri, M.PHARM. – Senior Research Associate

Research Interests: Investigating therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative conditions including Gulf War Illness, Aging, Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Alzheimer's Disease. 

Research skills and expertise: Developing Experimental models for Gulf War Illness, Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Traumatic Brain Injury, Neurobehavioral tests, Examination of alterations at the cellular level in neurodegenerative conditions, Human and Animal Cell Culture Techniques Including Isolation of Extracellular Vesicles from Stem Cells.

Google Scholar

Yogish Somayaji, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Research Associate

Research Interest: Gulf War illness, Alzheimer's disease, and Aging

Research skills and expertise: Dr. Yogish's research involves, exposure of various chemicals to animals (rats and mice), testing of animals for cognitive and mood function using a battery of behavioral tests, animal euthanasia, brain tissue harvesting for immunohistochemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, immunocytochemical and immunofluorescence studies on brain issue sections, performing ELISA, WB, and quantitative real-time PCR.

Google scholar

SHAMA RAO, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Research Associate

Research Interests: Stem cell and cell derived extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases.

Research skills and expertise: Techniques in Mammalian Cell culture, Propagation and maintenance of cell lines, Isolation, characterization and differentiation of Human neural and mesenchymal stem cells, Synovium derived stem cells, Bone marrow stem cells, Cartilage derived stem cells and Umbilical cord derived stem cells, Dermal stem cells, Establishment of explant and monolayer culture of mammalian normal and cancer cells. PCR, Agarose gel electrophoresis, PAGE, Western Blotting and ELISA, Immunocytochemistry

Google scholar

Vidya V. Rao, Ph.D. – Research Associate

Research Interests: Stem cell and cell derived extracellular vesicles isolation, EV therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases.

Research skills and expertise: Techniques in Mammalian Cell culture, Extracellular vesicle isolation, fluorescent microscopy, Agarose gel electrophoresis, ELISA

Xiaolan Rao, B.S. – Research Assistant

Research Interests: Neuropathological studies in neurodegenerative disease models

Research skills and expertise: Brain tissue processing, cryostat sectioning, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining, neurobehavioral tests for assessing cognitive and mood function.

Maha Kirmani, B.S. – Research Assistant

Research Interests: Neuroimaging and neurohistological studies on neurodegenerative disease models

Research skills and expertise: Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining, Stereology, Confocal Microscopy, Image J.

Charles Huard, Undergraduate Research Student

Research Interest: Charles’s research is mainly focused on senescence in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. He is also interested in determining whether various senolytics that eliminate senescent cells could alleviate the progression of neurodegeneration.

Research skills and expertise: ELISA, qPCR, Flow Cytometry, Immunofluorescence, and Immunohistochemistry

Vashishta Kolla, B. TECH. – Mbiot Research Student

Research Interests: Human induced pluripotent stem cell and human neural stem cell cultures, Traumatic Brain Injury and Gulf War Illness

Research skills and expertise: Animal Handling, Basic cell culture techniques, StereoInvestigator cell counting, Fluorescence Microscopy, Image J analysis

ARFA JAWAID, B. TECH. – Mbiot Research Student

Research Interests: Human induced pluripotent stem cell and human neural stem cell cultures, Extracellular Vesicle isolation, Size-exclusion chromatography, and Neuropathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease

Research skills and expertise: Cell culture techniques, isolation of extracellular vesicles, immunohistochemistry, Light microscopy and imaging

JESWIN E. JAMES, B. TECH. – Mbiot Research Student

Research Interests: Human induced pluripotent stem cell and human neural stem cell cultures, Extracellular Vesicle isolation, Size-exclusion chromatography, and Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Research skills and expertise: Cell culture techniques, isolation of extracellular vesicles, immunohistochemistry, Light microscopy and imaging