Samir Ranjan Panda

About

🔬 Postdoctoral Fellow | Retinal Neurodegeneration & Drug Discovery | UCSF Ophthalmology

I am a neuropharmacologist and postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Aparna Lakkaraju's lab at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where I investigate the molecular mechanisms driving retinal neurodegeneration in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

My current research focuses on how progranulin (PGRN) deficiency and mTOR hypoactivation disrupt metabolic homeostasis in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), leading to photoreceptor degeneration. I use super-resolution live imaging, transcriptomics, AAV-mediated gene delivery, electroretinography (ERG), and transgenic mouse models to dissect disease mechanisms and identify therapeutic targets. I am also evaluating small-molecule drug candidates — including a bisphosphonate and a pan-adiponectin receptor agonist — in preclinical models of Stargardt disease and Batten disease, supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the All May See Foundation (AMSF).

📚 My scientific journey:
I hold a PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology from NIPER-Guwahati (All India Rank: 7 in NIPER-JEE), where my dissertation uncovered how ambient PM2.5 drives neurodegeneration via the lung-gut-brain axis. My master's research at the same institute focused on neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease, characterizing the NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway as a therapeutic target.

📊 Research Impact:
• 28 publications | h-index: 15 | 833+ citations
• Cumulative Impact Factor: 112.0
• Published in Brain, Behavior & Immunity | ACS Chemical Neuroscience | European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry | JHEP Reports | Clinical Science | Frontiers in Pharmacology and more

🏆 Honors & Awards:
• AMSF Postdoctoral Fellowship (2025)
• BrightFocus Foundation Travel Award, Alzheimer's FastTrack Workshop (2025)
• Presenter, Society for Neuroscience (SFN) Annual Meeting (2025)
• Young Scientist Award, CSIR India & MDS Travel Grants (2022, 2023)
• Best Senior Research Fellow Award, NIPER-Guwahati (2024)

🔍 Research Interests:
Neurodegeneration | Retinal Biology | AMD | FTD | Parkinson's Disease | Neuroinflammation | NLRP3 Inflammasome | Gut-Brain Axis | Drug Discovery | AAV Gene Therapy | Super-Resolution Imaging

📬 Open to collaborations in retinal disease, neurodegeneration, and translational neuropharmacology.

Employment

• University of California, San Francisco Postdoctoral Scholar
  2024 - Present
• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research PhD Scholar
  2019 - 2024

Education

• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology
  2019 - 2023
• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research MS (M.Pharm) Pharmacology and Toxicology
  2017 - 2019
• Institute of Pharmacy and Technology Bachelors in Pharmacy
  2013 - 2017

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (32)

• Modulation of Mitochondrial Dynamics by Loganic Acid Ameliorates Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology: Evidence from In Vitro and In Vivo Studies
  ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2026 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.6c00012
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• Loganic Acid Alleviates the Olfactory-Brain NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Rescues Dopaminergic Neurons in Experimental Models of Parkinson’s Disease
  Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s11481-025-10183-9
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• Discovery of novel substituted (Z)-N′-hydroxy-3-(3-phenylureido)benzimidamide derivatives as multifunctional molecules targeting pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease
  European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116959
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• Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Ferulic Acid-Piperazine Derivatives Targeting Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease
  ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2024 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00130
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• Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Ferulic Acid Template-Based Novel Multifunctional Ligands Targeting NLRP3 Inflammasome for the Management of Alzheimer’s Disease
  ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2024 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00679
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• Neurobehavioral Analysis to Assess Olfactory and Motor Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease
  Neuroprotection 2024 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3662-6_35
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• Herbal Medicines for the Treatment of COPD
  Role of Herbal Medicines 2023 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-7703-1_9
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• Loganic Acid Protects Against Ulcerative Colitis by Inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB Mediated Inflammation and Activating the SIRT1/NRF2 Anti-Oxidant Responses In-Vitro and In-Vivo
  SSRN 2023 DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4352840
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• AKR1B1 drives hyperglycemia-induced metabolic reprogramming in NAFLD-associated carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma
  Research Square 2023 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2420419/v1
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• Pyridine-Based 1,2,4-Triazolo-Tethered Indole Conjugates Potentially Affecting TNKS and PI3K in Colorectal Cancer
  ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2023 DOI: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.2c00475
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