Ravinder Nagpal, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Director: The Gut Biome Lab

rnagpal@fsu.edu

Vita

ravinder headshot

Get to know Dr. Nagpal

Interests

My research focuses on understanding the role of the gut microbiome in host aging-associated intestinal and neurocognitive health. The overarching goals of my research program are to discover gut ‘dysbiosis’ elements and underlying mechanisms of beneficial versus pathogenic microbes and metabolites in host physiology and to harness this knowledge to develop novel nutritional/pharmacological interventions to foster a healthier microbiome and ameliorate gut, cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders including obesity, type-2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, the ongoing research in my microbiome research lab is centered on unveiling the cellular, molecular and microecological mechanisms underlying the following:

(a) the role of gut microbiome dysbiosis and entero-septic pathobiome elements in host neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease.

(b) interaction of gut microbiome with specific nutritional interventions, dietary components, and pre/probiotics in context to host metabolic and neurodegenerative health.

(c) the role of maternal and neonatal microbiome elements in relation to developmental origins of health and disease.

We utilize cutting-edge and high-throughput microbiological, metagenomic, computational and preclinical models to gain comprehensive understanding of specific bacteriome, mycobiome and metabolome factors and their interactions with the host physiological system. Our lab has an extensive array of multidisciplinary collaborations with experts in gerontology, neuroscience, microbiology, nutrition/food sciences, cell/molecular biology, immunology, sepsis, and clinical care, with the principal mission to gain advanced and inclusive insights into this intricate and fascinating area of research.

Education

  • Postdoc training (Microbiome): Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
  • Postdoc training (Infant Microbiota): Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
  • PhD (Dairy Microbiology): National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India
  • MSc (Microbiology): Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, India
  • BSc (Life Sciences): DS College, Karnal, India

Accomplishments

  • Nominated for “Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award”, Florida State University. 2024.
  • Nominated for “Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award”, Florida State University. 2023.
  • Young Investigator Travel Award, Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2023.
  • Early Investigator Grant Award: Almond Board of California (ABC-USDA). 2022.
  • Nominated for “Outstanding Undergraduate Advising Award”, Florida State University. 2022.
  • Young Investigator Grant Award: Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). 2021.
  • Robert B. Bradley Library Research Award, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA. 2021
  • Paper of Distinction recognition: European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition (ESPGHAN), Prague, Czech Republic. 2017.
  • Best Paper Award: European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition (ESPGHAN); Athens, Greece. 2016.
  • Young Investigator Award: Microbiota and Probiotic Science Foundation, Bangaluru, India. 2012.
  • Best Paper Award: Indian Dairy Association (IDA), Goa, India. 2009.
  • Junior Researcher Scholarship: Asian Federation of Societies of Lactic Acid Bacteria (AFSLAB), Singapore. 2009.
  • Doctoral Scholarship: Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India, 2004-2008.

Membership

  • American Society for Nutrition (ASN)
  • International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUCN)
  • Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
  • American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
  • The U.S. Shock Society
  • International Association for Food Protection (IAFP)
  • International Scientific Association of Probiotics & Prebiotics (ISAPP)
  • Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI)
  • International Probiotics Association (IPA)

Editorial Board Membership

  • Associate Editor, Frontiers in Microbiomes
  • Associate Editor, Frontiers in Nutrition
  • Editor, Infection & Immunity
  • Editor, BMC Microbiology
  • Editorial Board, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
  • Editorial Board, Frontiers in Systems Microbiology
  • Special Issue Editor, Molecular Psychology
  • Advisory Panel, Nutrients
  • Editorial Board, Antibiotics
  • Editorial Board, Recent Patents in Food, Nutrition & Agriculture

Journal Peer Review Service

Nature Communications; Gut Microbes; Microbiome; EBioMedicine; Advanced Science; Gut Microbiome; Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA); Communication Biology; Journal of Alzheimer’s disease; iScience; Clinical Nutrition; FEMS Microbiology; Journal of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics; BMC Microbiology; Food Research International; Scientific Reports; Clinical & Translational Medicine; Nutrients; mSystems; Neurogastroenterology & Motility; American Journal of Functional Foods; Nutritional Neuroscience; Infection & Immunity; mBio; mSystems; Frontiers in Microbiomes; Microbiome Research Reports; BMC Neuroscience; Molecular Neurobiology.

Teaching

  • Nutrition and Microbiome (HUN 5938)
  • The Science of Nutrition (HUN 1201)
  • Directed Individual Study (HUN 6906; HUN 4913)

Research Support

  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
  • Florida Department of Health (FLDoH)
  • Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
  • Almond Board of California (USDA-regulated)
  • National Watermelon Board (USDA-regulated)
  • US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • National Institute of Health (NIH)
  • Juntendo Probiotics Research Laboratory, Tokyo
  • FSU Council on Research and Creativity
  • FSU Institute for Successful Longevity

Selected Pubs and Other Scholarly Activities

For a complete list see PubMed or Google Scholar.

2024

  1. Park G, Kadyan S, Hochuli N, Pollak J, Wang B, Salazar G, Chakrabarty P, Efron P, Sheffler J, Nagpal R. A modified Mediterranean-style diet enhances brain function via specific gut-microbiome-brain mechanisms. Gut Microbes 2024; 16:2323752.
  2. Park G, Munley JA, Kelly LS, Kannan KB, Mankowski RT, Sharma A, Upchurch G,Casadesus G, Chakrabarty P, Wallet SM, Maile R, Bible LE, Wang B, Moldawer LL, Mohr AM, Efron PA, Nagpal R. Gut mycobiome dysbiosis after sepsis and trauma. Critical Care 2024 Jan 11;28(1):18.
  3. Park G, Kadyan S, Hochuli N, Salazar G, Laitano O, Chakrabarty P, Efron P, Zafar MA, Wilber A, Nagpal R. An enteric bacterial infection triggers neuroinflammation and neurobehavioral impairment in 3xTg-AD transgenic mice. The Journal of Infectious Diseasedoi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae165.
  4. Kadyan S, Park G, Hochuli N, Miller K, Wang B, Nagpal R. Resistant starches from dietary pulses improve neurocognitive health via gut-microbiomebrain axis in aged mice. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2024 Jan 24;11:1322201. doi: doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1322201.
  5. Dawson MA, Cheung SN, La Frano MR, Nagpal R, Berryman CE. Early time-restricted eating improves markers of cardiometabolic health but has no impacton intestinal nutrient absorption in healthy adults. Cell Reports Medicine 5(1):101363. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101363.
  6. Munley JA, Kelly LS, Park G, Drury SK, Gillies GS, Coldwell PS, Kannan KB, Bible LE, Efron PA, Nagpal R, Mohr AM. Acute Emergence of the Intestinal Pathobiome after Postinjury Pneumonia. Journal of Trauma Acute Care Surgerydoi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000004300. PMID: 38480488.
  7. Hochuli, N., Kadyan, S., Park, G., Patoine, C. and Nagpal, R. Pathways linking microbiota-gut-brain axis with neuroinflammatory mechanisms in Alzheimer’s pathophysiology. Microbiome Research Reports 2024 3(1):9, doi: 10.20517/mrr.2023.39.
  8. Yadav B, Bhattacharya SS, Rosen L, Nagpal R, Yadav H, Yadav JS. Oro-Respiratory Dysbiosis and Its Modulatory Effect on Lung Mucosal Toxicity during Exposure or Co-Exposure to Carbon Nanotubes and Cigarette Smoke. Nanomaterials. 2024; 14(3):314. doi: doi.org/10.3390/nano14030314.
  9. Nataraj BH, Jeevan K, Dang AK, Nagpal R, Ali SA, Behare PV. Pre-clinical safety and toxicity assessment of Limosilactobacillus fermentum NCDC 400 in murine model. Microbial Pathogenesis 2024; 189:106589.

 

2023

  1. Kadyan S, Park G, Wang B, Singh P, Arjmandi B, Nagpal R. Resistant starches from dietary pulses modulate the gut metabolome in association with microbiome in a humanized murine model of ageing. Scientific Reports 2023;13(1):10566.
  2. Bouch RJ, Zhang J, Miller BC, Robbins CJ, Mosher TH, Li W, Krupenko SA, Nagpal R, Zhao J, Bloomfeld RS, Lu Y, Nikiforov MA, Song Q, He Z. Distinct inflammatory Th17 subsets emerge in autoimmunity and infection. Journal of Experimental Medicine 2023; 220(10):e20221911.
  3. Kadyan S, Sharma A, Arjmandi BH, Singh P, Nagpal R. Prebiotic mechanisms of resistant starches from dietary beans and pulses on gut microbiome and metabolic health in a humanized murine model of aging. Frontiers in Nutrition; 2023, 10:1106463.
  4. Munley JA, Kelly LS, Park G, Gillies GS, Pons EE, Kannan KB, Bible LE, Efron PA, Nagpal R, Mohr AM. Sex-specific intestinal dysbiosis persists after multicompartmental injury. Surgery. 2023 Oct 11:S0039-6060(23)00524-X.
  5. Kadyan S, Park G, Wang B, Nagpal R. Dietary fiber modulates gut microbiome and metabolome in a host sex-specific manner in a murine model of aging. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. 2023;10:1182643.
  6. Singh TP, Kadyan S, Devi H, Park G, Nagpal R. Gut microbiome as a therapeutic target for liver diseases. Life Sciences 2023 Jun 1;322:121685.
  7. Munley JA, Kirkpatrick SL, Gillies GS, Bible LE, Efron PA, Nagpal R, Mohr AM. The Intestinal Microbiome after Traumatic Injury. Microorganisms. 2023 Aug 2;11(8):1990.
  8. Centner AM, Khalili L, Ukhanov V, Kadyan S, Nagpal R, Salazar G. The Role of Phytochemicals and Gut Microbiome in Atherosclerosis in Preclinical Mouse Models. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 28;15(5):1212.
  9. Singh S, Sarma DK, Verma V, Nagpal R, Kumar M. Unveiling the future of metabolic medicine: omics technologies driving personalized solutions for precision treatment of metabolic disorders. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2023 Nov 19;682:1-20.
  10. Nataraj BH, Shashank Gowda BG, Kapila S, Arora S, Puniya AK, Nagpal R, Behare PV. Influence of exopolysaccharide EPSKar1-iron complexation on iron bioavailability and alleviating iron deficiency anemia in Wistar rats. Food & Function 2023;14(10):4931-4947.
  11. Singh S, Sarma DK, Verma V, Nagpal R, Kumar M. From Cells to Environment: Exploring the Interplay between Factors Shaping Bone Health and Disease. Medicina. 2023 Aug 25;59(9):1546.
  12. Ellouze I, Sheffler J, Nagpal R, Arjmandi B. Dietary patterns and Alzheimer’s disease: an updated review linking nutrition to neuroscience. Nutrients 2023 Jul 19;15(14):3204.
  13. Munley J, Nagpal R, Hanson N, Mirzaie A, Laquian L, Mohr A, Efron P, Arnaoutakis D, Cooper M. Chronic mesenteric ischemia-induced intestinal dysbiosis resolves after revascularization. Journal of Vascular Surgery 2023; 9(2):10108.
  14. Polcz VE, Barrios EL, Chapin B, Price CC, Nagpal R, Chakrabarty P, Casadesus G, Foster T, Moldawer LL, Efron PA. Sex, sepsis and the brain: defining the role of sexual dimorphism on neurocognitive outcomes after infection. Clinical Science 2023;137(12):963-978.
  15. Munley JA, Kelly LS, Park G, Gillies GS, Pons EE, Kannan KB, Whitley EM, Bible LE, Efron PA, Nagpal R, Mohr AM. Multicompartmental traumatic injury induces sex-specific alterations in the gut microbiome. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 2023;95(1):30-38 (PMID: 36872509).
  16. Singh S, Sharma P, Sarma DK, Kumawat M, Tiwari R, Verma V, Nagpal R, Kumar M. Implication of obesity and gut microbiome dysbiosis in the etiology of colorectal cancer. Cancers 2023 Mar 22;15(6):1913.
  17. Kumari M, Kumari R, Nataraj BH, Shelke PA, Ali SA, Nagpal R, Behare PV. Physicochemical and rheological characterizations of a novel exopolysaccharide EPSKar1 and its iron complex EPSKar1-Fe: Towards potential iron-fortification applications. Current Research in Food Science 2023; 6:100478.

2022

  1. Kadyan S, Sharma A, Arjmandi BH, Singh P, Nagpal R. Prebiotic potential of dietary beans and pulses and their resistant starch for aging-associated gut and metabolic health. Nutrients. 2022;14(9):1726.
  2. Clark M, Centner AM, Ukhanov V, Nagpal R, Salazar G. Gallic acid ameliorates atherosclerosis and vascular senescence and remodels the microbiome in a sex-dependent manner in ApoE-/- mice. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 2022;110:109132.
  3. Velez F, Bosilevac JM, Delannoy S, Fach P, Nagpal R, Singh P. Development and validation of high-resolution melting assays for the detection of potentially virulent strains of Escherichia coli O103 and O121. Food Control 2022; 139:109095.
  4. Kumari M, Dasriya VL, Nataraj BH, Nagpal R, Behare PV. Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus-derived exopolysaccharide attenuates d-galactose-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory brain injury and modulates gut microbiota in a mouse model. Microorganisms. 2022 Oct 17;10(10):2046.
  5. James MM, Pal N, Sharma P, Kumawat M, Shubham S, Verma V, Tiwari RR, Singh B, Nagpal R, Sarma DK, Kumar M. Role of butyrogenic Firmicutes in type-2 diabetes. Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders 2022 Jul 14;21(2):1873-1882.
  6. Bhattacharya SS, Yadav B, Rosen L, Nagpal R, Yadav H, Yadav JS. Crosstalk between gut microbiota and lung inflammation in murine toxicity models of respiratory exposure or co-exposure to carbon nanotube particles and cigarette smoke extract. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 2022 Jul 15;447:116066.
  7. Srivastava U, Nataraj BH, Kumari M, Kadyan S, Puniya AK, Behare PV, Nagpal R. Antioxidant and immunomodulatory potency of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus NCDC24 fermented milk-derived peptides: A computationally guided in-vitro and ex-vivo investigation. Peptides. 2022; 155:170843.
  8. Singh S, Sharma P, Pal N, Kumawat M, Shubham S, Sarma DK, Tiwari RR, Kumar M, Nagpal R. Impact of environmental pollutants on gut microbiome and mental health via the gut-brain axis. Microorganisms. 2022; 10(7):1457.
  9. Kumar M, James MM, Kumawat M, Nabi B, Sharma P, Pal N, Shubham S, Tiwari RR, Sarma DK, Nagpal R. Aging and microbiome in the modulation of vaccine efficacy. Biomedicines. 2022; 10(7):1545.
  10. Kumar M, Pal N, Sharma P, Kumawat M, Sarma DK, Nabi B, Verma V, Tiwari RR, Shubham S, Arjmandi B, Nagpal R. Omega-3 fatty acids and their interaction with the gut microbiome in the prevention and amelioration of type-2 diabetes. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 21;14(9):1723.
  11. Sarma DK, Kumar M, Dhurve J, Pal N, Sharma P, James MM, Das D, Mishra S, Shubham S, Kumawat M, Verma V, Tiwari RR, Nagpal R, Marotta F. Influence of host blood meal source on gut microbiota of wild caught Aedes aegypti, a dominant arboviral disease vector. Microorganisms. 2022 Feb 1;10(2):332.

2021

  1. Nagpal R, Indugu N, Singh P. Distinct Gut microbiota signatures in mice treated with commonly used food preservatives. Microorganisms. 2021 Nov 7;9(11):2311.
  2. Rejeski JJ, Wilson FM, Nagpal R, Yadav H, Weinberg RB. The impact of a Mediterranean diet on the gut microbiome in healthy human subjects. Digestion 2021 Nov 8:1-8.
  3. Sharma L, Nagpal R, Jackson CR, Patel D, Singh P. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and gut microbiome communities associated with wild-caught shrimp from the United States versus imported farm-raised retail shrimp. Scientific Reports 2021; 11(1):1-14.
  4. Kumari M, Singh P, Nataraj BH, Kokkiligadda A, Naithani H, Azmal Ali S, Behare PV, Nagpal R. Fostering next-generation probiotics in human gut by targeted dietary modulation: An emerging perspective. Food Res Int. 2021 Dec;150(Pt A):110716.
  5. Vasundhara D, Raju VN, Hemalatha R, Nagpal R, Kumar M. Vaginal & gut microbiota diversity in pregnant women with bacterial vaginosis & effect of oral probiotics: An exploratory study. Indian J Med Res. 2021 Apr;153(4):492-502.
  6. Kincaid HJ, Nagpal R, Yadav H. Diet-microbiota-brain axis in Alzheimer’s disease. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism 2021; 27:1-7.
  7. Miller B, Mainali R, Nagpal R, Yadav H. A newly developed synbiotic yogurt prevents diabetes by improving the microbiome-intestine-pancreas axis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2021; 22(4):1647.
  8. Saccon TD*, Nagpal R*, Yadav H, Cavalcante MB, Nunes ADC, Schneider A, Gesing A, Hughes B, Yousefzadeh M, Tchkonia T, Kirkland JL, Niedernhofer LJ, Robbins PD, Masternak MM. Senolytic combination of Dasatinib and Quercetin alleviates intestinal senescence and inflammation and modulates the gut microbiome in aged mice. Journal of Gerontology 2021: glab002 (*equal contribution).
  9. Miller B, Mainali R, Nagpal R, Yadav H. A newly developed synbiotic yogurt prevents diabetes by improving the microbiome-intestine-pancreas axis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2021; 22(4):1647.