Praveen Kumar

Research Experience:

Postdoctoral Fellow; 08/2019-Present; Glasscock’s Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA

I am investigating the difference in firing rates, field potential properties of male vs female in wild type (WT) as well as Kcna1 gene knockout (KO) mice in heart tissue and difference in the spontaneous firing rate, field potential amplitude and long-term potentiation (LTP) between WT and KO male and female mice (Hippocampal slices) by using multi electrode array (Med64) system.

Postdoctoral Fellow; 01/2018 – 07/2019; Glasscock’s Lab, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Investigated the sex differences underlying risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)- One of the risk factors for SUDEP is related with sex differences, but the reasons for this association is not well understood. To explore differences in SUDEP risk due to sex, male and female mice with epilepsy due to Kcna1 gene deletion (Kcna1–/–) were investigated for differences in SUDEP susceptibility. I have investigated brain-driven cardiac arrhythmias, seizure-related cardiorespiratory dysfunction, and premature death. Simultaneous video electroencephalography (EEG) – electrocardiography (ECG) recordings were performed to measure spontaneous seizures and cardiac dysfunction. Currently I am working on the manuscript which included sex differences data showing EEG, ECG and plethysmography differences in both the sexes.

PhD from (2010 - 2016) Godbole’s lab, Department of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology/Endocrinology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

The title of my thesis was: “To investigate the effect of maternal thyroid hormone insufficiency on epigenetic modifications of developmentally regulated neuro-glial genes”.

My PhD thesis was focused, to see the effect of hypothyroidism on cerebellar as well as cortical brain development in rats. The study was mainly divided into two parts.

a) In first part of the study dealt with the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor on cerebellar development under hypothyroid condition. I used valproic acid (VPA) which is a histone deacetylase inhibitor and saw the effect of it in cerebellar development (Kumar P et al 2015, J Endocrinology).

b) The other part of my study was based on cortical brain development, with major focus on understanding epigenetic regulation of genes like Bdnf, Reelin, Gfap and nNos in euthyroid as well as hypothyroid conditions followed by treatment of thyroid hormone (T4), demethylating agent (5-Aza) and histone deacetylase inhibitor (VPA). These genes play major role in neurogenesis, neuronal migration and astrogliogenesis (Kumar P et al 2018, BBRC).

I earned my master's degree (M.Sc.) in Biotechnology from Lucknow University in Lucknow, India in 2009

Publications:

1. Praveen Kumar, Si M, Paulhus K, Glasscock E. “Microelectrode Array Recording of Sinoatrial Node Firing Rate to Identify Intrinsic Cardiac Pacemaking Defects in Mice”. J Vis Exp. 2021 Jul 5;(173). doi: 10.3791/62735. PMID: 34279515.

2. Praveen Kumar, Godbole NM, Chaturvedi CP, Singh RS, George N, Upadhyay A, Anjum B, Godbole MM, Sinha RA. “Mechanisms involved in epigenetic down-regulation of Gfap under maternal hypothyroidism”. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. PMID 29852171 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.05.173

3. Ravi Shankar Singh, Dharmendra Kumar Chaudhary, Aradhana Mohan, Praveen Kumar, Chandra Prakash Chaturvedi, Carolyn M. Ecelbarger, Madan M. Godbole & Swasti Tiwari, “Greater efficy of atorvastatin versus a non-statin lipid-lowering agent against renal injury: potential role as a histone deacetylase inhibitor” Sci. Rep. 6, 38034; doi: 10.1038/srep38034 (2016).

4. Praveen Kumar, Vishwa Mohan, Rohit Anthony Sinha, Megha Chagtoo, Madan M. Godbole, “Histone deacetylase inhibition reduces hypothyroidism-induced neuro-developmental defects in rats” J Endocrinology 2015 Nov; 227(2):83-92. doi: 10.1530/JOE-15-0168.

5. Nelson George, Megha Chagtoo, Aru Singh, Praveen Kumar, Srinivasan Muthuswamy, Bandana Chakraborthy, Hormonal Regulation of Calcium Signaling in Endocrine Cancers, World journal of endocrine surgery, Aug 2014.

6. Amit Pal, Modi DR, Rohit A Sinha, Vishwa Mohan, Leena Rastogi, Praveen Kumar, and Madan M Godbole, “Iodine plus Omega-3-fatty acid supplementation provides improvised rescue of postnatal neuronal abnormalities in iodine deficient rat cerebellum” , Br J Nutr. 2013 Aug;110(4):659-70. doi: 0.1017/S0007114512005569. Epub 2013 Jan 14.

7. Vishwa Mohan, Rohit A Sinha, Amrita Pathak, Leena Rastogi, Praveen Kumar, Amit Pal and Madan M Godbole. “Maternal thyroid hormone deficiency affects the fetal neocorticogenesis by reducing the proliferating pool, rate of neurogenesis and indirect Neurogenesis”, Exp Neurol. 2012 Oct;237(2):477-88. doi: 0.1016/j.expneurol.2012.07.019. Epub 2012 Aug 7.