Cell Signaling Laboratory

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder and becomes a major cause of morbidity and mortality as it is the fourth leading cause of disease-related death.

Dr. Ramkumar’s research group works on experimental diabetes research using high-end molecular and cellular biology tools and optical imaging. The pathogenic processes involving diabetes range from autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β-cells with consequent insulin deficiency to abnormalities that result in resistance to insulin action. The major contributing factors for excessive β-cell death include cytokine stress, ER stress, and oxidative stress-mediated mitochondrial damage, which creates an imbalance in redox homeostasis. Yet, β-cells have evolved adaptive mechanisms to endure a wide range of stress conditions to safeguard their potential functions. We extended our research on the detailed steps of various cell signalling pathways in response to modulators for diabetes management. We are developing molecular imaging techniques for screening signalling modulators and also studying the molecular mechanism of its impact β-cell dysfunction in diabetes.