YALE UNIVERSITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Research Scientists
I studied biology and mathematics as an undergraduate at the University of Washinton, and then did my PhD with David S. Hogness at Stanford University, where I characterized the Drosophila receptor for ecdysone, the insect steroid hormone that causes molting and metamorphosis. In my graduate work, I saw how successful model organisms and molecular genetics had become at gaining deep mechanistic insights into development, an area of biology that had previously been viewed as almost unapproachably complex. I became interested in applying an analogous approach to study another complex area of biology: the brain. To pursue this idea, I switched from Drosophila to a different model organism, C. elegans, which has a simpler nervous system and more powerful genetics, and did my postdoctoral training in the lab of H. Robert Horvitz at MIT, where I learned C. elegans molecular genetics. As a postdoc, I discovered a family of proteins I named "Regulators of G protein Signaling" (RGS proteins for short) that downregulate neurotransmitter signaling. For 20 years now I have run a laboratory at Yale focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which neurons communicate with each other, and how such neural signaling is used to generate the dynamic patterns of activity within neural circuits that underlie how living things think and behave.
Besides running a lab, I enjoy teaching. For many years I have been the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the biochemistry major at Yale. I currently teach two different undergraduate biochemistry courses. In my free time, I play the violin.
Currently I am working on Gα o, which is the most abundant G-protein found in brain tissue, and controls both development and adult physiology of the brain. However, the downstream effectors for Gα o signaling pathways ha ve not been fully elucidated. My main aim is to identify and characterize downstream effectors for Gα o.
I grew up in Jalor, Rajasthan in India. I completed my M. Sc at Kuman University, Nainital and my PhD at the Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh. Afterwards, I came to the USA for a post-doc at the University of Chicago. Outside of lab, I love to spend time with my family and trying food from different countries. I like participating in sports, especially cricket and soccer. I also enjoy reading newspaper and political discussions with friends.