Ganga Gokulakrishnan, MD

Education

School Education Degree Year
Baylor College of Medicine fellowship Neonatal-Perinatal 2010
University of Texas Medical School at Houston residency Pediatrics 2007
Madurai University residency Pediatrics 2001
Madurai University medical school Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery 1995

Personal Statement

There is evidence from human epidemiological studies that babies who experience malnutrition during late gestation and have a low birth weight have lower muscle strength and lower lean body mass as adults. Such babies experience a higher incidence of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and osteoporosis as adults. It is unclear how maternal malnutrition brings about such an effect on muscle.

My research interest focuses on the various factors in the perinatal and postnatal period that can influence skeletal muscle mass and thus lean body mass. Using a rat model, we are interested in looking at the short term effects as well as the long term consequences of nutrition and glucocorticoids on the regulation of muscle growth in early life.

Organization

Organization Name Role
American Academy of Pediatrics Fellow
American Society of Nutrition Member
International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) Member
Texas Medical Association Member

Selected Publications

Gokulakrishnan G, Estrada IJ, Sosa HA, Fiorotto ML. In Utero Glucocorticoid Exposure Reduces Fetal Skeletal Muscle Mass in Rats Independent of Effects on Maternal Nutrition. American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative andComparative Physiology 2012 May; 302(10):R1143-52.