Shalini Vidyadharan
Email
shalinividyadharan@gmail.com
Phone
8078178577
Location
Punnaritta Madom, Vazhar mangalam P.O.,Chengannur, Kerala, India
Research experience

Junior Scientist

PreviPharma India Ltd., AIC-CCMB
04/2026 – Present
  • •Establish and characterize rodent models of ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and sepsis for preclinical evaluation of candidate therapeutics, including embolic/MCAO-based stroke models.
  • •Perform cell based assays, qPCR, Western blotting, ELISA, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), and protein quantification to investigate molecular responses associated with disease progression and therapeutic intervention.
  • •Conduct basic mammalian cell culture and contribute to in vivo therapeutic intervention studies and downstream molecular characterization.

    • Project Associate-I

    Dr. Anant B Patel Lab CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology(CCMB)
    12/2023 – 03/2026 | Hyderabad

    As a Project Associate at CSIR-CCMB, I independently drove two primary and two collaborative research projects end-to-end, from experimental design and data acquisition to data analysis and manuscript preparation. My technical repertoire spans stereotaxic surgeries, tail-vein infusions, perfusion, and a comprehensive battery of behavioral paradigms (FST, OFT, EPM, Y-Maze, Morris Water Maze, and NORT), alongside molecular techniques including qPCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). I also contributed to the development of an Alzheimer's disease model through bilateral stereotaxic administration of amyloid-β into the hippocampal CA1 region, followed by longitudinal histological analyses to assess plaque seeding and pathology progression. Furthermore, I contributed to establishing a cell-type-specific isolation pipeline encompassing FACS-based sorting of microglia, astrocytes, and neurons from region-dissected mouse brain tissue (cortex and hippocampus), followed by single-cell RNA extraction and bulk RNA sequencing. I further possess specialized expertise in quantitative proteomics, including iTRAQ/TMT labeling, FASP-based peptide preparation, basic pH RP-HPLC fractionation, and LC-MS/MS analysis, as well as ¹H-[¹³C]NMR spectroscopy for cell-type-specific neurotransmitter flux quantification. Findings from these studies have contributed to manuscripts currently under review and in preparation.

    Master's Dissertation Research

    National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune
    06/2022 – 11/2022 | Pune

    Advisor/PI: Dr. Amitabha Majumdar

    Project Title: Study of Long-Term Memory Using Courtship in Drosophila

  • •Investigated the role of flotillin in memory formation using a Drosophila melanogaster knockout model. Performed courtship suppression assays to evaluate memory retention at both short-term and long-term time points. The study demonstrated that disruption of the flotillin gene selectively impairs long-term memory formation while largely preserving short-term memory.
    • Laboratory Experience
    Mice Handling: Behavioral tests (FST, OFT, EPM, Y-maze, Morris Water maze, NORT ). | Dosing: Intravenous (Tail vein infusion), Intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, oral gavage | perfusion techniques, region-specific brain microdissection, and Surgeries (stereotaxic).
    Fly handling and maintenance: Sexing of flies, Virgin collection, Courtship assay, Adult brain dissection, Larval brain dissection, NMJ dissection
    Molecular Biology: DNA/RNA and Plasmid isolation, qPCR, AGE, PAGE, Western blotting, Co-IP, Immunohistochemistry(IHC) , transfections, and Protein purification using coloumn chromatography(Ni-NTA, Cu-NTA), Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting(FACS)
    Cell Culture: Basic mammalian cell culture handling
    Quantitative Proteomics: Global and phosphoproteomics analysis of mouse brain tissue with iTRAQ/TMT labeling | Protein isolation, quantification, peptide generation using in-solution method (FASP, Desalting) | Basic pH Reverse Phase HPLC-based Fractionation | Tandem mass spectrometry - LC-MS/MS analysis
    NMR Spectroscopy: ¹H-[¹³C]-NMR spectroscopy
    Microscopic techniques: Bright field and fluorescence microscopy
    Software and Data Analysis: GraphPad Prism | Noldus EthoVision XT | Proteomediscoverer | MATLAB
    Cell Biology: Basic experience in cell culturing techniques and karyotyping
    Bioinformatics: Basic knowledge of biological databases(NCBI, Ensembl ), MySQL, Next-generation sequencing, Molecular docking
    Education
    12/2020 – 02/2023 | Hyderabad
  • •Fully-funded master's fellowship by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India
  • •CGPA: 8.26
  • •Dissertation title: Study of Long-term Memory Using Courtship in Drosophila

    • Advisor/PI: Dr. Amitabha Majumdar

    06/2017 – 08/2020 | Kollam
  • •• Merit cum Means Scholarship, Govt. of India: Recipient of a fellowship supporting BSc education
  • •CGPA: 9.02
    • Publications
  • •Vidyadharan, S., Kumar, S. A., Akella, A., Varadarajan, K. S., Singh, S., Kumar, J. M., Kumar, A. & Patel, A. B. Enhanced Neuronal Ketone-Body Metabolism in the Brain of Leprdb/db Mice with Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Under review Neurochemistry International (NEUROCHEMINT-D-26-01114)
  • •Sarawagi, A., Vidyadharan, S. & Patel, A. B. Sustained Effects of Repeated Subanesthetic (R,S)-ketamine administration on Neurometabolic Activity in Mouse Brain. Expected submission [Under preparation].
  • •Vidyadharan, S.*, Anand, N. K.*, Gothwal, S.*, Ramesh, A., Dey, B. & Patel, A. B. Assessing the Impact of Every-Other-Day Fasting on Brain Metabolism in Mouse Model of Aging. Manuscript in preparation, expected submission [Under preparation]. (* these authors contributed equally to the completion of this work)
    • Industrial Experience

    Associate Content Editor

    Clarivate Analytics
    06/2023 – 12/2023
  • •Analyzed high-impact journal literature to identify and annotate complex molecular interactions including protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, and nucleic acid-nucleic acid interactions.Ensured accurate scientific interpretation and quality control of annotated content for research database applications.
    • Conference Presentation

    ISMRM & ISMRT Annual Meeting & Exhibition⁠

    Cape Town, South Africa, May 9–14, 2026. Digital Poster (First author)

    Title: "Enhanced neuronal metabolic activity supports preserved neurotransmitter homeostasis under type-2 diabetes"

    AIM-AT, Indian Academy of Neuroscience-2024⁠

    National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India; November 12-14, 2024. Traditional Poster presentation (First author)

    Title: “Assessing the Impact of Every-Other-Day Fasting on Brain Metabolism in a Mouse Model of Aging.”

    HONORS & AWARDS
  • •Silver Rank in BSc Microbiology, Amrita School of Biotechnology
  • •GAT-B qualified 2020 All India Rank 87
  • •CSIR-NET 2023(LS) All India Rank 43
    • Teaching/Outreach Experience

    Skill Development Program in Metabolomics and NMR spectroscopy

    Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Volunteer Instructor
    January 27 - 31 , 2025
    References
    Dr. Anant Bahadur Patel, Chief Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad
    Dr. A. Venkateshwari, Professor, Institute of Genetics and Hospital for Genetic Diseases, Hyderabad