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Kavaljit H. Chhabra, M.Pharm., Ph.D.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Administrative: (585) 276-4994

Office: (585) 273-4523

Research Labs

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Research

After obtaining Bachelor and Master of Pharmacy: Pharmacology degrees from Gujarat University in India, Dr. Chhabra moved to New Orleans to pursue a PhD at LSU Health in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Chhabra gained theoretical and experiential understanding of blood glucose regulation in Dr. Eric Lazartigues' lab, where he studied the role of pancreatic ACE2 in diabetes in mice. Dr. Chhabra was a recipient of a pre-doctoral fellowship, 2011-2013, from the American Heart Association in addition to other national recognitions such as Outstanding Abstract/Oral Presentation Awards by the American Physiological Society.
For his post-doctoral training, in 2013, Dr. Chhabra joined Dr. Malcolm Low's lab at the University of Michigan to study the function of the central melanocortin system in glucose homeostasis. Under Dr. Low's mentorship, Dr. Chhabra has identified the function of hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in glucose reabsorption via GLUT2, an insulin-independent mechanism of glucose regulation, which was highlighted in the March 2016 issue of Diabetes journal. Moreover, Dr. Chhabra has unraveled a reciprocal relationship between hypothalamic POMC and leptin for which he was awarded a Novel Disease Model Award by the American Physiological Society in 2016. Dr. Chhabra has further demonstrated the contribution of hypothalamic POMC in the regulation of basal sympathetic nervous system activity, which in turn is essential for normal glucose reabsorption.
Dr. Chhabra is a recipient of Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow and Outstanding Postdoctoral Teaching Awards by the University of Michigan. Most recently, Dr. Chhabra has received an Early Investigator Award by The Endocrine Society.
Dr. Chhabra's current research project on the contribution of hypothalamic melanocortin 4 receptor signaling in hypoglycemia counterregulation is funded by a K01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Credentials

Education

2005
BPharm | Gujarat University
Pharmacy

2007
MPharm | Gujarat University
Pharmacology

2013
PhD | LSU Health Sciences Center
Pharmacology

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

07/01/2013 - 06/30/2018
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Lab of Malcolm Low, MD, PhD.

Publications

Journal Articles

9/15/2023
Chhabra KH, Bathina S, Faniyan TS, Samuel DJ, Raza MU, de Souza Cordeiro LM, Viana Di Prisco G, Atwood BK, Robles J, Bainbridge L, Davis A. "ADGRL1 is a glucose receptor involved in mediating energy and glucose homeostasis." Diabetologia.. 2023 Sep 15; Epub 2023 Sep 15.

7/5/2023
Campbell TM, Campbell EK, Attia J, Ventura K, Mathews T, Chhabra KH, Blanchard L, Wixom N, Faniyan TS, Peterson DR, Harrington DK, Wittlin SD. "The Acute Effects of a DASH diet and Whole Food, Plant-Based diet on Insulin Requirements and Related Cardiometabolic Markers in Individuals with Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes." Diabetes research and clinical practice.. 2023 Jul 5; :110814. Epub 2023 Jul 05.

4/7/2023
Raza MU, Chhabra KH. "Osmotic Minipump Implantation for Increasing Glucose Concentration in Mouse Cerebrospinal Fluid." Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE.. 2023 Apr 7; (194)Epub 2023 Apr 07.

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