Padmanaban V

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Padmanaban utilises functional metabolic studies to understand obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus and their pathogenesis in the Indian population. He is currently using the tools of statistical genetics and genomics to elucidate the genetic architecture of body fat distribution and metabolic disorders in the Indian population. 

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

MD in Biochemistry

Christian Medical College, Vellore
2014 – 2017

MBBS

K. A. P. V. Government Medical College, Trichy
2007 – 2012

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Associate Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore
July 2022 – Present

Assistant Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore
July 2018 – July 2022

Senior Resident

Department of Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore
July 2017 – June 2018

PG Registrar

Department of Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore
April 2014 – March 2017

Research Officer

Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
June 2013 – March 2014

Medical Intern

Annal Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, Trichy
April 2012 – March 2013

PROFILE 

Teaching & Training

I teach Medical Biochemistry to undergraduate medical, nursing, and allied health sciences students at CMC Vellore. I also train postgraduate students in theoretical and practical aspects of medical biochemistry, with expertise in advanced metabolic assessment techniques and biostatistical analysis using R programming. 

Primary Research Areas

• Metabolic Characterization: Functional studies of insulin sensitivity, beta-cell function, and glucose homeostasis in Indian populations

• Statistical Genetics: GWAS analysis, MTAG, LD score regression, Mendelian randomization, and post-GWAS approaches for cardiometabolic traits

• Body Fat Distribution: Genetic basis and metabolic consequences of regional adiposity independent of BMI

• Maternal Metabolic Health: Gestational diabetes, iron metabolism in pregnancy, and long-term metabolic outcomes

• Iron Metabolism: Effects on pancreatic beta-cell function and diabetes risk

Technical Expertise

Statistical Genetics & Bioinformatics: - Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) - Multi-trait analysis of GWAS (MTAG) - LD score regression - Mendelian randomization - Large-scale genomic data processing and quality control - Microbiome analysis

Programming & Data Analysis: - R programming (advanced) - SPSS, Python - PLINK, Regenie

Metabolic Assessment: - Euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp studies - Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) - Mixed meal challenge test - Oral minimal model, C-peptide deconvolution - Surrogate measures of insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function - Indirect calorimetry - Clinical biochemistry assays

International Training & Workshops

• International Statistical Genetics Workshop: Boulder, USA (2025)

• Junior Training Fellowship: University of Texas at Austin, USA – “Genetic basis of body fat distribution”

• R for Next-Gen Biochemists: Conducted pre-conference workshop at AMBICON 2025, Coimbatore, India

• Method validation: Conducted workshop at Velammal Medical College, Madurai 2024

CURRENT AND RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

1. Genomics of Body Fat Distribution
   GWAS and post-GWAS analysis of UK Biobank data to elucidate the genetic architecture of local and visceral adiposity independent of overall BMI

2. Mendelian Randomization Studies on Alcohol, Metabolomics & Proteomics
   Examining causal relationships between alcohol consumption traits and metabolomic/proteomic outcomes using UK Biobank and other large-scale datasets

3. Metabolic Characterization of Lean Diabetes in India
   Understanding unique metabolic phenotypes in individuals with low BMI and diabetes in rural and semi-urban India

4. Iron Metabolism & Pancreatic Beta-Cell Function
   Investigating effects of dietary iron overload on pancreatic beta-cell function and glucose tolerance

5. Fibrocalculous Pancreatic Diabetes in India
   Characterizing metabolic and genetic features specific to Indian populations

6. Insulin Sensitivity Validation Studies
   Validation of surrogate measures (HOMA-IR, QUICKI, FGIR) against gold-standard euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp in Asian Indian populations

7. Weight Loss Intervention on Beta-Cell Function
   Examining beta-cell function recovery following short-term low-calorie diet intervention in overweight normoglycemic subjects

8. Iron Supplementation & Gestational Diabetes
   Investigating relationships between iron supplementation and gestational diabetes mellitus risk using Mendelian randomization

9. Molecular Genetic Diagnosis of MODY
   Targeted next-generation resequencing for Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young and other genetic forms of diabetes

10. Nutritional Status & Metabolic Health
    Regional differences in dietary patterns and their relation to nutrition-related outcomes

11. COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics
    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis of COVID-19 spread and contact tracing assessment in healthcare workers

PUBLICATIONS

Complete publication list available on Google Scholar.

Recent Publications (2025)

1. Peter, M., Padmanaban V., Nellickal, A.J. et al. (2025) Impact of endometrioma on iron levels and oxidative stress in the follicular fluid in women with endometriosis: a cross-sectional study. Sci Rep 15, 43416. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-20319-9

2. Padmanaban V., Peter, M. & Varghese, J. (2025) Genetic evidence against causal effects of haemoglobin and iron parameters on the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-025-01528-4

3. Monica P, Mithra B, Joe V, Sam M, Yesudhas S, Felix J, Padmanaban V. (2025) Effect of short-term (4 weeks) low-calorie diet induced weight loss on beta-cell function in overweight normoglycemic subjects: A quasi-experimental pre-post interventional study. Metabolism Open 27, 100378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metop.2025.100378

4. Vasudevan A, Padmanaban V. (2025) Association of organ iron levels with type 2 diabetes mellitus and glycemic traits: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology 87, 127586.

5. Peter M, Amrit, Roshin JE, Varghese J, Padmanaban V. (2025) Dietary Factors that Influence Iron Deficiency Anemia in India. Indian Journal of Public Health 69(1), 100. doi:10.4103/ijph.ijph_1441_23

Selected Earlier Publications

6. Peter M, Bhaskar AV, Kamble VA, et al., Padmanaban V. (2024) Determination of Reference Interval for Serum Homocysteine, Magnesium, and Uric Acid from Tertiary Care Hospital Data By the Bhattacharya Method. Current Medical Issues 22(2), 68.

7. Mathew SK, Chapla A, Padmanaban V., et al. (2024) Genetic predisposition and high exposure to colistin in the early treatment period as independent risk factors for colistin-induced nephrotoxicity. Clinical and Translational Science 17(3), e13764.

8. Padmanaban V., Prakash SS, Ramasamy J. (2023) Association of dietary patterns and health outcomes by spatial regression analysis of nationally representative survey data from India. Indian J Public Health 67(3), 399–407.

9. Padmanaban V., Ramaswamy J, Vanitha S, Jacob M, Varghese J. (2022) Impaired pancreatic beta-cell function after a single dose of oral iron: a before-and-after (pre–post) study. J Hum Nutr Diet 1, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.13074

10. Lontchi-Yimagou E., Dasgupta R., Anoop S., et al., Padmanaban V., et al. (2022) An Atypical Form of Diabetes Among Individuals With Low BMI. Diabetes Care dc211957.

11. Murugesan M, Padmanaban V, Kumar S, et al. (2022) Epidemiological investigation of the COVID-19 outbreak in Vellore district in South India using Geographic Information Surveillance (GIS). International Journal of Infectious Diseases 122, 669–675.

12. Padmanaban V., Varghese, J., Arthi, T.S., James, J.V., Anura, A., Prasad, J., Jacob, M. (2021) Evidence of dysregulated iron homeostasis in newly diagnosed diabetics, but not in pre-diabetics. Journal of Diabetes and its Complications 35(9), 107977.

13. Malathi M., Padmanaban V., Jagadish R., et al. (2022) Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 and utility of contact tracing in risk assessment of health care worker exposure during COVID-19 pandemic. Indian Journal of Community Medicine 47(1), 82–86.

14. Dasgupta R, Anoop S, Padmanaban V, et al. (2019) Differential performance of surrogate indices of fasting insulin resistance in low-birthweight and normal-birth weight cohorts: Observations from Hyperinsulinaemic-Euglycaemic clamp studies in young, Asian Indian males. Diabetes Metab Syndr 13(1), 770–775.

Presentations & Talks

Recent Scientific Talks

1. “Uncovering genomic basis of local and visceral adiposity using GWAS and post-GWAS analysis of UK Biobank data”
   National Conference on “Obesity, T2DM and other clustering disease interface: Molecular Insights to Clinical Practice,” Jaipur, India, June 2025

2. “Experience of measuring insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in human subjects”
   AMBICON 2025, PSG, Coimbatore, India

Conference Presentations

1. “Analysis and comparison of surrogate measures of insulin sensitivity with hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp study in an Indian population”
   Poster presentation at XXII Annual National Conference of Association of Medical Biochemists of India (AMBICON 2014), Tirupathi, India

2. “Serum hepcidin levels in diabetes mellitus”
   Poster presentation at 43rd National Conference of Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBICON 2016), Mangalore

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

1. Tamil nadu Medical Council – Registration No: 102138

2. Association of Medical Biochemists of India Membership-Reg No: TN/2014/201 

Additional Information

Online Presence: - Google Scholar Profile - GitHub Pages Portfolio