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Nanda Kumar Navalpur Shanmugam, Ph.D.

Research Associate at Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor at Harvard Medical School; Faculty, Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, Massachusetts General Hospital

The molecular mechanisms involved in the relationship between gut microbiota and its host, including brain health, has been the focus of Dr. Navalpur Shanmugam’s research career. In particular, the influence of gut microbiota on host immune homeostasis, gut health and gut-brain bidirectional communication has been his primary area of study.  Additionally, Dr. Navalpur Shanmugam is also exploring the benefits of high fiber diet, prebiotics and probiotics on gut microbiota and brain function. Currently, he is investigating gut-brain axis in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) specifically in relation to changes in diet, gut inflammation, microbiome, or synbiotics, and also looking into whether low grade and chronic systemic gut inflammation potentiate brain amyloid deposition in AD transgenic mice models.  Gut microbiota perturbations and their derived secondary metabolites impact brain health in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Navalpur Shanmugan is also looking at potential microbially-induced triggers of beta-amyloid pathology and resulting neuroinflammation by RNA/DNA sequencing of brain, blood, CSF, and saliva samples. Advanced high-throughput screening and sequencing techniques to identify microbial signatures possibly inducing AD pathogenesis forms the basis of his work. Collective findings would help address some key questions that linger in the field of AD research in relation to the gut-brain axis.

 

Related Research:

Microbiome Consortium: Microbial Profiling of Human Brain and Gut Microbiomes in Alzheimer’s Disease Rudy Tanzi Nanda Kumar Navalpur Shanmugam 2023-11-02 Characterizing Gut Microbiome Synergy With Emphasis on Mycobiome and Its Impact on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Pathology in AD Mouse Models Deepak Kumar Vijaya Kumar Nanda Kumar Navalpur Shanmugam Rudy Tanzi William Eimer 2020-12-18 Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease: Metagenomics on Saliva, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Blood and Brain Nanda Kumar Navalpur Shanmugam Deepak Kumar Vijaya Kumar Rudy Tanzi William Eimer 2020-08-03

Funded Research

These projects were made possible from Cure Alzheimer's Fund support.

Project Description Researchers Funding
Microbiome Consortium: Microbial Profiling of Human Brain and Gut Microbiomes in Alzheimer’s Disease 2023, 2024

$575,000
Characterizing Gut Microbiome Synergy With Emphasis on Mycobiome and Its Impact on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Pathology in AD Mouse Models 2020, 2021

$500,000
Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease: Metagenomics on Saliva, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Blood and Brain 2020

$350,000

Selected Publications

These published papers resulted from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund support.

Eimer, W. A., Rodriguez, A. S., DeFao, M. T., Ehricke, S., Park, J., Vijaya Kumar, D. K., Navalpur Shanmugam, N. K., Singh, S., Sawhney, T., Moir, R. D., & Tanzi, R. E. Phosphorylated tau exhibits antimicrobial activity capable of neutralizing herpes simplex virus 1 infectivity in human neurons, Nature Neuroscience, December 17, 2025, Read More

Vijaya Kumar, D. K., Mitchell, T. A., Tailor, B. A., Moir, A. P., Navalpur Shanmugam, N. K., Eimer, W. A., Ghelichi, J., Choi, S. H., Su, C., Rodriguez, A. S., Kim, E., Moir, R. D., & Tanzi, R. E. Human amylin is a potent antimicrobial peptide that exhibits antimicrobial synergism with the amyloid beta protein, Alzheimer's & Dementia, July 29, 2025, Read More

Navalpur Shanmugam, N. K., Zamudio, F., Vijaya Kumar, D. K., Barrett, K. A., VanDoren, R., Chen, M., Barr, O. M., Watson, S., Lin, C. J., Eimer, W. A., Jorfi, M., Choi, S. H., Moir, R. D., & Tanzi, R. E. Acute experimental colitis in 5xFAD Alzheimer’s disease mice leads to enhanced monocyte infiltration into the brain accompanied by reduced β-amyloid deposition, Alzheimer's & Dementia, June 2, 2025, Read More

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