Email

chitrakshi.pant@bcm.edu

Positions

Postdoctoral Associate

Pediatrics - Neurology NRI
Baylor College of Medicine
US

Addresses

Jan and Dan Ducan Neurological Research Institute (Office)

1250 Moursund St.
Houston, TX 77030
United States
chitrakshi.pant@bcm.edu

Education

PhD from CSIR-IICT

01/2025 - Hyderabad, Telangana India

Professional Statement

My research training spans stress biology, neurodegeneration, and neurodevelopmental neuroscience, with a strong emphasis on mechanistic disease biology. During my doctoral work, I developed extensive expertise in molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and therapeutic screening using complementary in vitro systems and in vivo Drosophila and mouse models. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Cuddapah laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, my research focuses on defining the mechanistic links between sleep disruption, circadian regulation, metabolic state, and seizure susceptibility. I am currently investigating ketogenic dietary interventions in Drosophila seizure models to elucidate metabolic rescue pathways and dose- and time-dependent therapeutic effects. My long-term goal is to identify conserved biological mechanisms underlying neurological disorders and translate these insights into rational therapeutic strategies.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Chitrakshi Pant 1 2, Genji Sukumar 3 4, Vidya Jyothi Alli 5, Surender Singh Jadav 2 5, Srihari Pabbaraja 2 3, Shasi V Kalivendi 1 2 "Allosteric Activation of SIRT1 by 2,4-Dihydroxy-azaflavanone Averts MPP+-Mediated Dysfunction in Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Bioenergetics: Implications for Parkinson's Disease." 2024; Pubmed PMID: 39074306
• Chitrakshi Pant 1 2, Moumita Chakrabarti 1 2, Jolly Janette Mendonza 1 2, Bogonda Ganganna 2 3, Srihari Pabbaraja 3, Manika Pal Bhadra 1 "Aza-Flavanone Diminishes Parkinsonism in the Drosophila melanogaster Parkin Mutant." 2021; Pubmed PMID: 34763419
• "Rv0547c, a functional oxidoreductase, supports Mycobacterium tuberculosis persistence by reprogramming host mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism." 2024 Sep; Pubmed PMID: 38986924
• "Inhibitory role of oleanolic acid and esculetin in HeLa cells involve multiple signaling pathways." 2020; Pubmed PMID: 33346097

Skills

Area of expertise

Has scientific expertise in- Mitochondrial biology and bioenergetics; Metabolic regulation and ketogenic therapies; Epilepsy and seizure biology; Neurodegeneration (Parkinson’s disease); Sleep and chronobiology; Nutritional and small-molecule neuroprotection; Translational Drosophila disease models.