Usha Panchapakesan

Biography

Dr Panchapakesan trained as a renal specialist and was awarded her Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2003. She has actively chosen a career in medical research over clinical medicine. In 2003 she commenced her PhD at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney funded by the Jacquot Research Entry Scholarship and a National Health and Medical Research Council Scholarship. She was awarded her PhD in 2006. Her PhD studies resulted in several publications including a solicited review in Nature Clinical Practice – Nephrology. Based on her PhD studies, she was an invited speaker at the 2006 Kimmelstiel Meeting of Endocrinologists and Nephrologists. She subsequently received the prestigious Jacquot Fellowship for her postdoctoral studies and this was renewed for a second year of funding. She currently works full time as a postdoctoral researcher and supervises a PhD student and an Honours student after completing a Development Program for Research Higher Degree Supervision (University of Sydney). Her area of expertise is the renal complications of diabetes mellitus specifically in vitro models. Dr Panchapakesan trained as a renal specialist and was awarded her Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2003. She has actively chosen a career in medical research over clinical medicine. In 2003 she commenced her PhD at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney funded by the Jacquot Research Entry Scholarship and a National Health and Medical Research Council Scholarship. She was awarded her PhD in 2006. Her PhD studies resulted in several publications including a solicited review in Nature Clinical Practice – Nephrology. Based on her PhD studies, she was an invited speaker at the 2006 Kimmelstiel Meeting of Endocrinologists and Nephrologists. She subsequently received the prestigious Jacquot Fellowship for her postdoctoral studies and this was renewed for a second year of funding. She currently works full time as a postdoctoral researcher and supervises a PhD student and an Honours student after completing a Development Program for Research Higher Degree Supervision (University of Sydney). Her area of expertise is the renal complications of diabetes mellitus specifically in vitro models.

Research Interest

Dr. U. Panchapakesan's research interests are in the renal complications of diabetes. During her PhD she studied the role of PPARgamma in renal tubular cells. She is currently interested in the role of toll-like receptors in diabetic nephropathy. Her research is focussed on in vitro models using kidney cells