Nirmala Parajuli
Associate Professor
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
faculty
Pharmacology & Toxicology, College of Medicine
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Biography and Research Information
OverviewAI-generated summary
Nirmala Parajuli's research focuses on strategies to improve the viability of kidneys during cold storage for transplantation, aiming to enhance long-term graft survival. Her laboratory investigates how cold storage affects protein quality and renal function post-transplantation, seeking potential therapeutic targets. Current work in rat models examines the roles of the proteasome, heat shock proteins, and the complement pathway in kidney grafts subjected to cold storage and subsequent transplantation.
Parajuli has published extensively on these topics, with recent work detailing the disruption of the kidney proteome and phosphoproteome landscape during cold storage. Her research has also explored the aberrant activation of the complement system and the induction of the immunoproteasome in renal grafts. Additionally, her work has investigated the impact of interventions such as hypothermic machine perfusion and metformin on oxidative stress and inflammation in kidney and liver models, respectively.
Her scholarly contributions include 61 publications with over 6,700 citations and an h-index of 15. Parajuli has received federal funding, including a $429,560 grant from the NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to investigate targeting heat shock protein 72 for improved renal function after transplantation. She actively collaborates with researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, including Dinesh Bhattarai, Seongok Lee, Madison McGraw, and Se-Ran Jun.
Research Overview
My primary research priority is to identify strategies to enhance the viability of kidneys during prolonged cold storage in order to ensure the long-term survival of renal transplants. My research focuses on exploring novel mechanisms by which cold storage alters protein quality and renal function after transplantation, and importantly, to identify a possible therapeutic target that could lead to improved renal outcomes after transplantation. Specifically, my laboratory investigates the roles of the proteasome, heat shock proteins, and the complement pathway during cold storage followed by transplantation using rat models.
Metrics
- h-index: 15
- Publications: 61
- Citations: 6,762
Selected Publications
- Metformin Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Responses in Obesity-Associated Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) (2025) DOI
- Complement 5's Role in Mitochondria During Kidney Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats (2025) DOI
- Compared with Static Cold Storage, Hypothermic Machine Perfusion Mitigates Oxidative Stress and Tubular Injury in Rat Kidneys (2025) DOI
- Post‐ischemia and reperfusion kidney injury is mitigated in a novel complement 5 knockout rat (2025) DOI
- Obesity-Associated NAFLD Coexists with a Chronic Inflammatory Kidney Condition That Is Partially Mitigated by Short-Term Oral Metformin (2025) DOI
- Mechanism of Impaired Protein Homeostasis in Kidney Grafts Following Cold Storage and Transplantation (Abstract ID: 162640) (2025) DOI
- Ischemia and Reperfusion (IRI)-Induced Kidney Injury Is Attenuated by Complement 5 Gene Deletion (Abstract ID: 161749) (2025) DOI
- Unrecognized Effects of Metformin to Reduce Proteasomal Stress and Macrophage Infiltration in Kidneys of Obese Rats with NAFLD (Abstract ID: 166383) (2025) DOI
- Cold Storage Disrupts the Proteome and Phosphoproteome Landscape in Rat Kidney Transplants (2024) DOI
- Cold Storage-Mediated Activation of P38MAPK-MK2 Axis Induces Kidney Injury after Transplantation (2024) DOI
- Cold Storage Exacerbates Complement Pathway Activation in Kidneys following Transplantation (2024) DOI
- Mechanism of Impaired Protein Homeostasis in Kidney Grafts following Cold Storage and Transplant (2024) DOI
- Novel compounds that target epoxyeicosanoids protect rat kidney epithelial cells in organ transplant solution during cold storage (2024) DOI
- Normal Proteasome Function Is Needed to Prevent Kidney Graft Injury during Cold Storage Followed by Transplantation (2024) DOI
- Cold Storage Followed by Transplantation Induces Immunoproteasome in Rat Kidney Allografts: Inhibition of Immunoproteasome Does Not Improve Function (2024) DOI
Federal Grants 1 $429,560 total
Targeting heat shock protein 72 to improve renal function after transplantation
Research Interests
Long-term interest of my laboratory is to understand molecular mechanisms responsible for cold storage (CS)-induced renal damage. My research focuses on exploring novel mechanisms by which CS alters protein quality and renal function after transplantation, and importantly, to identify a possible therapeutic target that could lead to improved renal outcome after transplantation. Specifically, I plan to investigate the roles of proteasome, heat shock proteins and complement pathway during CS plus transplantation. We have established a rat kidney transplantation model, which will be fundamental in studying my independent research project on CS mediated renal damage. In addition, I’m also collaborating with Dr. MacMillan-Crow to study the molecular mechanisms that disrupt mitochondrial dynamics during renal CS and transplantation using our rat kidney transplant model. https://www.archildrens.org/research/researchers-at-acri/nirmala-parajuli-phd https://pharmtox.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/nirmala-parajuli-ph-d/
Grants & Funding
- No FP attached UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
- No FP attached UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
- No FP attached UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
- No FP attached UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
- Ubiquitin Proteasome System, Mitochondria, and Renal Cold Storage - Continuation American Heart Association Principal Investigator
- Targeting heat shock protein 72 to improve renal function after transplantation NIH/NIDDK Select
- No FP attached UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
- No FP attached UAMS ACHRI Flow Through Principal Investigator
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