Kalipada Pahan

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Kalipada Pahan
IIT-revised.jpg
Born (1964-02-19) 19 February 1964 (age 62)
Midnapore, West Bengal, India
OccupationsProfessor, Neuroscientist
Known forResearch on statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) and cinnamon

Kalipada Pahan (born 19 February 1964, Midnapore)[Ref] is a professor of Neurological Sciences, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology, holding the Floyd A. Davis, M.D., Endowed Chair in Neurology at Rush University Medical Center. He is also a research career scientist at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. An Indian American neuroscientist, Pahan focuses on translational research related to multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and Batten disease . [1]

Contents

Life

Early Life in India: Dr. Pahan was born in 1964 at a remote Indian village in Midnapur, West Bengal, India. He received his early education in Changrachak high school and bachelor’s in chemistry from Midnapur College, a renowned college under the University of Calcutta.

Pursuit of Education and his journey to the USA: After completing his graduation, he moved to Kolkata to purse a Masters’ degree in Biochemistry and then completed Ph.D. in Biochemistry with Departmental fellowship. In 1992, he came to Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, SC for pursuing his post-doctoral studies. In 1999, he became assistant professor of Biochemistry at the College of Dentistry in University of Nebraska Medical Center and later promoted as an associate professor. In 2004, he moved to Rush University and joined as a professor and Floyd. A. Davis endowed chair of Neuroscience.

Research Career

Professor Pahan is highly regarded for his contributions to research on statins, cholesterol-lowering medications. His initial investigations focused on the role of statins in suppressing inflammatory responses within microglia, astroglia, and macrophages[Ref]. This discovery significantly influenced subsequent studies on statin drugs. Over the past 30 years, Professor Pahan has conducted pioneering research into the efficacy of statins for neuronal diseases. His laboratory later demonstrated that statins have potential neuroprotective effects and may enhance locomotor activity in Parkinson's disease by inhibiting activation of p21/Ras [ref]. Statins, classified as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, are recognized for their cholesterol-lowering properties. Professor Pahan's research further revealed that statins can exert HMG CoA reductase-independent actions[Ref}, supporting cognitive function via the PPAR-alpha-CREB pathway[Ref]. Most recently, his research has characterized a novel interaction between lipid metabolism and memory, indicating that the lipid-regulating transcription factor PPAR-alpha modulates hippocampal memory formation via transcriptional regulation of CREB (Roy et al., 2013, Cell Reports 4: 724–737), providing a potential explanation for the observed association between increased abdominal fat and memory impairment.[5]

His laboratory is also renowned for its research on cinnamon, where findings indicate that this widely used spice may offer benefits for various neurological disorders, including enhancing memory and learning in individuals with learning difficulties[Ref].

In 2021, his discovery on nasal drugs for Parkinson's disease was selected among the top three neuroscience discoveries in the world by Penn Neuro.[7] Most importantly, his laboratory findings on cinnamon, cinnamon metabolite sodium benzoate, gemfibrozil, low-dose aspirin, and physically-modified saline RNS60 have been confirmed in patients with different diseases by many clinical trials performed by several groups all over the world:

Awards & Honors

He has written many book chapters and published more than 200 articles in many peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Immunology, Journal of Neuroscience, Cell Death and Differentiation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Science Signaling, Cell Reports, Cell Metabolism, Nature Communications, and Nature Chemical Biology. His research on aspirin was featured in Society for Neuroscience 2019 Hot Topic. He is the recipient of "D. H. Reinhardt Scholar" award from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Dentistry, the "Silver U" award from the UNMC Chancellor's council, and the outstanding teaching award from the UNMC College of Dentistry. He also received the Joseph Wybran, M.D., Award from the Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology and the Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer's Association.[6]

1. Senior editor, Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology.

2. Permanent member, Clinical Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumors NIH study section.

3. Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2000.

4. Outstanding Performance Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2000-04.

5. Chancellor's Council Silver U Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2004.

6. Reinhardt Research Scholar Award, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2005.

7. Floyd A. Davis, MD, Endowed Professor, Rush University Medical Center.

8. Veterans Affairs Merit Awards.

Bibliography

  1. Cinnamon metabolite sodium benzoate reduces amyloid plaques from Alzheimer's disease patients. [2]
  2. Cinnamon is beneficial for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis [3] Cinnamon metabolite (Sodium Benzoate) in MCI [4]
  3. Gemfibrozil in Alzheimer's Disease [5]
  4. Sodium Benzoate in Later-Phase Dementia [6]
  5. Low-dose Aspirin in Dementia [7]
  6. Cinnamon in Rheumatoid Arthritis [8]
  7. RNS60 (Physically-modified saline) in ALS [9] Note: Reference for original characterization: [10]
  8. Cinnamon for Cognitive Function (Systematic Review) [11]
  9. RNS60 in Stroke [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Home". Pahanlab.com. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Lin, Chieh-Hsin; Lane, Hsien-Yuan (5 August 2025). "Sodium benzoate treatment decreased amyloid beta peptides and improved cognitive function among patients with Alzheimer's disease: secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial". Translational Psychiatry. 15 (1): 264. doi:10.1038/s41398-025-03492-3. ISSN   2158-3188.
  3. ↑ Delaviz, Elham; Salehi, Moosa; Ahmadi, Afsane; Fararooei, Mohammad; Vakili, Mahdis; Ashjazadeh, Nahid (18 July 2017). Effect of Cinnamon on Inflammatory Factors, Pain and Anthropometric Indices in Progressive-relapsing Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Report). Jundishapur Journal of Natural Pharmaceutical Products. pp. e14505.
  4. ↑ Lane, H. Y.; Lin, C. H.; Greenberg, W. M.; Chen, V. C.; Loh, E. W.; Huang, C. L.; Chen, C. J.; Chen, P. W.; Luo, S. C.; Chuo, P. N.; Hsu, C. H.; Lane, H. Y. (2021). "A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Comparison Study of Sodium Benzoate, a D-Amino Acid Oxidase Inhibitor, in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment". The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 82 (1) 20m13437. doi:10.4088/JCP.20m13437. PMID   33406269.
  5. ↑ Meglio, M. (2022). "Gemfibrozil Shows Promise in Patients With Predementia Alzheimer Disease, Metabolic and CVD Outcomes". NeurologyLive. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  6. ↑ Lin, C. H.; Chen, P. K.; Chang, Y. C.; Chuo, P. N.; Chen, Y. S.; Tsai, G. E.; Lane, H. Y. (2021). "Sodium Benzoate, a D-Amino Acid Oxidase Inhibitor, for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial". Biological Psychiatry. 89 (10): 951–959. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.12.009. PMID   33881530.
  7. ↑ Tan, M. S.; Tan, L.; Yu, J. T. (2022). "Low-dose aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials". Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. 14 (1): 102. doi: 10.1186/s13195-022-01017-4 . PMC   9310022 . PMID   35879774.
  8. ↑ Shishehbor, F.; Safari, M.; Amani, R.; Haghighizadeh, M. H. (2018). "Cinnamon consumption improves clinical symptoms and inflammatory markers in women with rheumatoid arthritis". Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 37 (8): 685–690. doi:10.1080/07315724.2018.1460733. PMID   29722610.
  9. ↑ Paganoni, S.; Berry, J. D.; Cupler, E.; Goutman, S. A.; Goyal, N. A. (2024). "A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Clinical Trial of RNS60 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)". Muscle & Nerve. doi:10.1002/mus.28214. PMID   39182589.
  10. ↑ Khasnavis, S.; Pahan, K. (2012). "Sodium benzoate, a metabolite of cinnamon and a food additive, reduces microglial activation and protects nigrostriatal dopaminergic system in mice". Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology. 7 (2): 424–435. doi:10.1007/s11481-012-9347-x. PMID   22753407.
  11. ↑ Nakhaee, S.; Kooshki, A.; Hormozi, A.; Akbari, A.; Mehrpour, O.; Farrokhfall, K. (2023). "Cinnamon and cognitive function: a systematic review of nano-formulations". Nutritional Neuroscience. 26 (1): 1–15. doi:10.1080/1028415X.2023.2165231. PMID   36652384.
  12. ↑ Watson, R.; Pahan, K. (2024). "Physically-modified saline (RNS60) exhibits promise in patients with stroke". Frontiers in Neurology. 15 40671649. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.40671649 . PMID   40671649.
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