Current Lab Members
Kartik Rajagopalan, M.D., Ph.D.
Position: Principal Investigator | Email Dr. Rajagopalan
Dr. Kartik Rajagopalan is a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, and a member of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UT Southwestern. He specializes in medical critical care.
Dr. Rajagopalan earned his medical and doctoral degrees at UT Southwestern where he studied metabolic fluxes during cell proliferation in the lab of Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis. He then completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Pulmonary and Critical-care Fellowship at Columbia University in New York. He performed post-doctoral work understanding the role of leptin signaling during influenza and COVID infection in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Friedman at Rockefeller University.
He returned to UT Southwestern to start a faculty position and laboratory in September of 2023.
When not in the laboratory, Kartik continues to practice medicine as an intensivist.
Tadiwanashe Gwatiringa
Position: Research Technician | Email Tadiwanashe
With a solid academic foundation and a visionary approach to health and society, Tadiwanashe is on a trajectory towards making a substantial impact in the medical field.
Tadiwanashe holds a bachelor's degree in human biology, health, and society from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
She is on a pre-med academic track to pursue a combined MD/PhD which she intends to use to deepen her knowledge and understanding of health disparities, with the goal of devising strategies that contribute significantly to improving healthcare access and outcomes for underserved communities.
Rafay Wahid
Position: Volunteer | Email Rafay
Rafay holds dual bachelor's in health and society, and biology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
During his academic journey, he had the privilege of conducting impactful research with Dr. Zoltowski's Circadian Clock Research Group, exploring the intricate relationship between circadian and photoperiodic clocks and their effects on plant growth and development.
Rafay is a licensed EMT who aspires to become a physician.
Catherine Pontius
Position: Research Technician | Email Catherine
Curiosity is Catherine’s default setting, propelling her into the realm of scientific research. Catherine received a liberal arts education at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York with a bachelor’s in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology. At Hamilton she was fortunate enough to conduct research in the labs of Herman Lehman and Natalie Nannas.
Catherine intends to gather lab skills and concentrate her curiosity into a specific field of research. Then her sights are set on graduate school.