Meet the Principal Investigator
Saikat Mukhopadhyay, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Cell Biology
The focus of Mukhopadhyay Lab's current research is to understand mechanisms of cellular signaling at the level of the primary cilia, and its relevance to human health and disease.
Current Lab Members
Sun-Hee Hwang, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist (2018-) Research Scientist (2013-2018)
Ph.D.: Pukyong National University, South Korea
Postdoctoral Training: Wakeland Laboratory, UT Southwestern
Research Interests: Developmental processes regulated by cilia, PKD, Neural tube defects.
Vivek Reddy Palicharla
Assistant Instructor (Sep 2023-)
Postdoctoral fellow (Sep 2017-Sep 2023) PKD Foundation Postdoc Fellow (2019-21)
Ph.D.: Maddika Subba Reddy Lab, CDFD, Hyderabad, India
Research Interests: Trafficking to cilia, PKD, Adenylyl Cyclase signaling by cilia.
Benjamin Popokh
Medical Student (Aug 2022-) UT Southwestern Summer Research Program (May 2023 – August 2023)
BS Neuroscience, BSA Biology: University of Texas at Austin
Research Interests: Role of cilia in generation and progression of medulloblastoma, relation of cell cycle and cilia in medulloblastoma
Yu Xun, Ph. D.
Scientist (2024-)
Ph.D.: Hunan Normal University, Changsha; China
Postdoctoral Training: Center for Genetics of Host Defense, UT Southwestern
Research Interests: Ciliary and extraciliary signaling, Obesity.
Lab Alumni
Kasturi Pal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow (2013-2016), Fowler Lab, Scripps Institute (2016-2019)
Present address: Assistant Professor of Biology, DBT Ramalingaswami Fellow, Ashoka University, India
Hemant Badgandi, Ph.D.
Research Scientist (2013-2017)
Present address: Asst. professor of practice, Department of Biological Chemistry, Vanderbilt University
Issei Shimada, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Instructor (June 2015-July 2018)
Present address: Junior Associate Professor,
Graduate School of Medical Sciences
Department of Cell Biology
Nagoya City University, Japan
Nipunika Somatilaka, Ph.D.
Graduate student (June 2014-August 2018)
Postdoc (Sep 2018-Feb 2020)
Present address: Postdoc, Lu Le lab, UT Southwestern and CTF Young Investigator Fellowship
Pratibha Bhalla, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow (May 2018- Feb 2019)
Present Address: Postdoctoral Fellow
Van Oers Lab, UT Southwestern
Sandii Constable
Postdoctoral Fellow (June 2019-)
Ph.D.: Lance Wells Lab, University of Georgia
Postdoctoral training: Tamara Caspary Lab, Emory University
Research Interests: Role of the primary cilium in neuronal development, function and disease.
Evan Loriot
STARS program, Summer 2014
Jesuit High School, Dallas
Amin Lim
SURF 2020 Summer Student (Selected) (May 2020- )
Undergraduate Studies at Wellesley College and MIT
Research Interests: Cilia and brain development
Karisma Sheth
SURF program, Summer 2014
Austin College, Sherman
Anatupenda Daphrose
STEP-UP summer research program student (2023),
Emmett J Conrad Global Studies HTECH high school student
Teja Sebastian
SURISKD 2019 Summer Student (June-August 2019)
Undergraduate Studies at UT Austin
Present address: Medical Student, UT Southwestern
Kevin White
Research Associate (May 2020-2023)
Research Assistant II (May 2019-April 2020)
B.S., Texas A&M University
Present address: Diosynth Biotechnologies, College Station TX
