Draft:Vidhya Rangaraju
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Vidhya Rangaraju | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Anna University (B.Tech) Weill Cornell Medicine (PhD) |
| Known for | Mitochondrial dynamics in dendrites Local ATP synthesis in neurons |
| Awards | NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2024) SfN Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award (2024) Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Ben Barres Award (2023) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience, Cell biology |
| Institutions | Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience Florida Atlantic University |
| Doctoral advisor | Timothy Ryan |
| Website | www |
Vidhya Rangaraju is a neuroscientist and Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI). Her research focuses on neuroenergetics, specifically how neurons manage energy supply and mitochondrial function within dendrites to support synaptic plasticity and memory formation.[1] She is a recipient of the NIH Director's New Innovator Award.[2]
Education and career
[edit | edit source]Rangaraju received a Bachelor of Technology in Industrial Biotechnology from Anna University in India in 2006. She moved to the United States for her graduate studies, earning a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from the Tri-Institutional Program at Weill Cornell Medicine, Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2014. Her doctoral research was conducted in the laboratory of Timothy Ryan, where she developed optical reporters to measure ATP synthesis at nerve terminals.[3]
From 2014 to 2019, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Erin Schuman at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2020, she established her independent laboratory at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience.[1] She also holds an Affiliate Faculty position at Florida Atlantic University.[4]
Research
[edit | edit source]Rangaraju's research investigates the local energy supply mechanisms in neurons, particularly how mitochondria are regulated in distal neuronal compartments.
Synaptic energy supply
[edit | edit source]During her doctorate, Rangaraju developed a quantitative optical reporter (Syn-ATP) to measure ATP levels in synaptic terminals. Her work demonstrated that synaptic vesicle cycling is metabolically expensive and that local ATP synthesis is required to sustain neurotransmission. This study has been cited over 870 times in peer-reviewed literature, establishing the link between local ATP synthesis and neurotransmission.[5][6]
Mitochondrial compartments
[edit | edit source]During her postdoctoral work, Rangaraju discovered that mitochondria in dendrites are organized into "compartments" that provide local energy for protein translation, a process essential for synaptic plasticity. This work provided evidence that energy is managed locally within specific dendritic segments rather than globally throughout the cell.[7]
Mitochondrial stabilization and ALS
[edit | edit source]Her laboratory at MPFI identified a role for the VAP protein in stabilizing mitochondria within dendritic spines. Her research showed that VAP acts as a "tether," keeping mitochondria stationary to fuel synaptic plasticity. Loss of VAP, which is associated with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), resulted in destabilized mitochondria and dendritic spine defects. This mechanism was highlighted for its implications in neurodegenerative diseases.[8][9]
Awards and honors
[edit | edit source]- 2024: NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2), a "High-Risk, High-Reward" research program that supports exceptionally creative early career investigators who propose innovative, high-impact projects.[10]
- 2024: Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award[11]
- 2023: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Ben Barres Early Career Acceleration Award[12]
- 2020: SfN Peter and Patricia Gruber International Research Award[13]
Selected publications
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References
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